I'll stick with you
by skullprincess120
Summary: Gabriella is back in town after five years. She has a terrible secret. She meets Troy and he learns about it. Will Troy help her get over it and stick with her? Or will he ignore her? COMPLETE! previously known as twosecretauthors
1. Back in Alberquerque

**A/N Here's a new story! Read it and Review. Thanks**

* * *

A 23-year-old brunette, with a tear-stained face and puffy, red eyes stepped off the train at Albuquerque train station, dragging a small duffel bag behind her. She was tired and was in need of comfort and was about to break down any second. It was clear that she had been through a lot. 

Gabriella Montez looked around the familiar place. She did not know why she had chosen to come back to Albuquerque. She had not kept in touch with her friends. It was not like she had not tried, but, as time passed, it became harder and harder each day, so, finally, they had all given up. The harder she had tried to hold on, the easier it had been to lose her friends.

Gabriella saw the coffee shop across the train station. It was where she broke up with Troy because her mom had gotten transferred again and they were going to move, _again_.

**FLASHBACK**

"_Troy, we need to talk," Gabriella told her boyfriend, as soon as he sat down across her._

"_What's wrong?" Troy asked._

"_I'm moving," Gabriella replied._

"_What?" Troy gasped. "But…"_

"_I…uh…I think, maybe, we should break up," Gabriella whispered._

"_Gabi, we can handle the long distance relationship thing," Troy said._

"_No, Troy," Gabriella cried. "Maybe you can, but, I can't. I really want to do this, but, it's just…I don't even know where I'm going yet and we'll be thousands of miles apart and you'll meet someone and…"_

"_Gabriella, I love you," Troy declared, loudly, making everyone near them stare._

"_I love you, too, Troy," Gabriella said, softly, as tears streamed down her face. "I always will love you, and who knows, maybe along the road, we'll hook up again."_

"_Okay," Troy nodded. He held up his arms for a hug. "Come here."_

"_I'll miss you, Troy," Gabriella whispered as she hugged him._

"_Remember, Gabi," Troy said. "Whenever you need me, I'm right here."_

**END FLASHBACK**

A few tears rolled down her cheeks as she walked into the coffee shop. She stood at the doorway, for a minute before making her way to the back of the shop. She sat down at an empty table. A waitress walked over to her and Gabriella ordered an iced latte. Before returning back to the kitchen, the waitress went to the next table. Gabriella was not paying any attention, but, she could not help overhearing her talk to the man and the man replying.

"Is there anything else I can do, sir?" the waitress asked.

"Uh…no, thanks, I'm good," the man answered.

Gabriella gasped when she heard the voice. It was a familiar one. In fact, it was too familiar. Gabriella turned around to see none other than…

"_Troy Bolton_?" Gabriella breathed.

"Huh?" Troy looked up and saw Gabriella staring at him. "_Gabriella_?"

"Oh, Troy," Gabriella cried as she flung herself at him.

"Hey, Gabs," Troy whispered. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Gabriella said, pulling away from him and sitting down. "Sorry about that. But, really, nothing's wrong."

"Gabriella," Troy said, warningly.

That was all it took. Instantly, Gabriella broke down and she started crying uncontrollably. Troy looked at her in surprise. He sat down beside her and gave her a hug.

"Gabi, what's wrong?" he whispered.

"Everything," Gabriella cried.

"Uh, okay," Troy said, slowly.

At that moment, the waitress walked over to Gabriella's table with her drink.

"She'll take that to go," Troy said. The waitress nodded. "Thank you."

"What are you doing?" Gabriella asked, wiping her tears away.

"Obviously, you can't stay here," Troy said. "Come on, Gabi. Talk to me. What's wrong?"

"I…er…I was in Chicago the past five years," Gabriella began just as the waitress brought her back her coffee. Gabriella took it and then she reached for her purse and paid the waitress.

"Come on," Troy said, grabbing Gabriella's duffel bag. "Where are you staying? You can tell me what's wrong on the way."

Gabriella stood up and then stopped. She looked at Troy. "Is everyone else really mad at me?"

"No, of course not," Troy replied. "We all really missed you, Gabi. They'll be thrilled to know that you are back in town."

"Where does Taylor live, now?" Gabriella asked. "I was hoping to talk to her and maybe stay at her place for a night."

"She's on her honeymoon with Chad," Troy replied. "In Hawaii."

"What?" Gabriella asked in surprise. "They got married? How about the rest of the gang?"

"Sharpay and Zeke got married and they are in Los Angeles, right now. So is Ryan. Sharpay and Ryan are in the show business and Zeke opened up a bakery," Troy answered. "Then, Jason and Kelsi are also there where Kelsi is now a composer. They're married, too."

"Oh, yeah," Gabriella said. "I saw one of her shows."

"Me, too," Troy said.

"So, I have no place to stay?" Gabriella said more to herself than to Troy.

"You can stay at my place," Troy offered.

"But, your parents…" Gabriella looked a bit doubtful.

Troy chuckled as he put his arm around her. "You really didn't expect me to stay at my parents' house for the rest of my life, did you?" he asked. "I bought an apartment."

"Oh," Gabriella smiled a bit.

"So, you want to stay at my place?" Troy asked.

"For a few nights, if you don't mind," Gabriella replied.

"Why would I mind if you crashed at my place?" Troy asked. "Come on."

Troy drove Gabriella to his apartment. They did not talk much on the way. When Troy asked Gabriella what was wrong she did not reply so Troy left her alone. Troy walked into the apartment, carrying Gabriella's bag and Gabriella followed.

"So, this is it," Troy said. It was a small apartment with a single room. There was a small kitchen and a dining table. There was also a television with a couch.

"Um, can I use your bathroom?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked surprised. "Yeah, sure," he said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm feeling a bit sick," Gabriella said as Troy showed her the bathroom. "I think it's the coffee…"

Gabriella walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Troy got her a glass of water. Fifteen minutes passed by and Gabriella was still in the bathroom. Troy was getting worried. He knocked on the door.

"Gabs?" he called.

There was not a reply. Troy opened the door and found Gabriella throwing up.

"Gabi!" Troy exclaimed, alarmed.

He hurried over to her and rubbed her back as she continued to be sick. He held back her hair. About another fifteen minutes later, Gabriella finally stopped throwing up. She sat by the bathtub as Troy handed her the glass of water.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I think it is food poisoning," Gabriella replied.

"But, what did you eat to get that?" Troy asked.

"I have no idea," Gabriella sighed.

"Come on," Troy said as he got up. "Let's get you something to eat."

"I don't feel like eating," Gabriella said.

"Okay," Troy said, slowly. "But, you should really eat something, but, it's your choice."

"I don't want to eat," Gabriella said, firmly.

Troy shrugged and held out his hand to help Gabriella up. As Gabriella's hand touched Troy's, they both felt a warm glow flow through them. It was the same glow they had felt when Gabriella had hugged him. Troy led Gabriella back into the room.

"Um…there's only one bed," Troy said, awkwardly. "You can have it."

"But, where are you going to sleep?" Gabriella asked.

"Oh, the couch's fine with me," Troy shrugged.

"But, Troy, I can't let you do that," Gabriella said.

"Gabriella, it's okay," Troy smiled.

Gabriella looked into Troy's eyes. Troy gazed back into hers.

"Kiss me!" Gabriella whispered.

"What?" Troy looked surprised.

"Troy, your kisses make me forget everything," Gabriella said as Troy continued to look at her. "And, right now I really need to forget everything and…"

Gabriella broke off as Troy grabbed the back of her head and kissed her. Before Gabriella could respond, Troy had pulled back and was staring into her eyes. Gabriella stared back. Troy started kissing her, again. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him. He sat down on the bed so that Gabriella was sitting on his lap. They kissed each other for a couple of minutes before Troy's hand went under Gabriella's shirt. Gabriella pulled back when she felt Troy's hand.

"What's wrong?" Troy asked.

"Can we not do this?" Gabriella asked.

"Sure," Troy shrugged. "But, you have to tell me what is wrong."

Gabriella took a deep breath. She looked at Troy and whispered, "Some drunken guy raped me."

"What?' Troy gasped.

Gabriella started crying again as the memories came back to her. Troy hugged her and she cried into his shirt.

"Who did it?" he asked, as he gently stroked her hair.

"I don't know," Gabriella whispered. "He was wearing this big hood so I couldn't see his face. And, he didn't say a word so I don't know what his voice sounds like."

"Gabi, you have to report this," Troy said, looking at her watery eyes.

"How?" Gabriella cried. "I don't know anything about this person."

"When did this happen?" Troy asked.

"Two days ago," Gabriella answered. "I came here because I didn't want to be at the same place as him."

"Does your mom know about this?" he asked her.

Gabriella froze. She looked up at Troy as fresh tears streamed down her face. "She died about a month ago," she whispered as Troy gaped in shock. "Car accident."

"Oh, Gabi," Troy whispered as he hugged her again.

"I miss her so much, Troy," Gabriella sobbed. "I have no one, now." Gabriella's dad had died when Gabriella was just nine years old.

"You have me, Gabs," Troy said, softly.

"What?" Gabriella turned her head to look up at Troy. She was very surprised.

"You have me," Troy repeated. "Remember the last thing I said to you when we broke up?"

"'Whenever you need me, I'm right here'," Gabriella quoted.

"That's right, Gabs," Troy smiled at her. "I lost you once! I'm not losing you, again. I love you, Gabriella Anne Montez. I always will and I don't think I ever loved anyone other than you."

Gabriella smiled at Troy. "I love you, too, Troy," she whispered.

"That's better," Troy smiled brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Keep on smiling."

Gabriella giggled as she wrapped her hands around Troy's neck. She kissed him, passionately and Troy responded with the same affection.

"Oh, Gabi," Troy murmured.

"Troy," Gabriella mumbled.

Their lips did not part for a single minute. Neither one of them heard the door opening. Neither one of them saw three people enter the room, gaping at them.

Zeke, Sharpay and Ryan stood at the doorway, their mouths open in surprise. Troy and Gabriella kept on kissing, completely, oblivious to the three people. Sharpay was the one to speak first.

"Troy Bolton!" she yelled. "May I ask you what you are doing? I thought you made your New Year's resolution not to kiss a girl unless it was Gabriella Montez!"

Troy and Gabriella broke apart when they heard Sharpay's voice. The three people standing did not know that it was Gabriella who was in Troy's arms. Gabriella raised an eyebrow at Troy when she heard the part about Troy's New Year resolution. Troy smiled sheepishly. He looked over Gabriella's shoulder at Sharpay who was glaring at him.

"That's right, Shar," Troy grinned. "And, I didn't kiss a girl other than Gabriella Montez, did I?"

Sharpay, Zeke and Ryan gaped in surprise as Gabriella got off Troy's lap. She smiled at them, hoping that they would not be mad. All of a sudden, Sharpay squealed and launched herself at Gabriella. Gabriella, who was a bit weak after throwing up so much, stumbled back. Troy steadied the two before they fell.

"Oh, Gabi!" Sharpay yelled. "What are you doing here? When did you come? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Uh…Shar," Gabriella gasped. "Can't…breathe!"

"Oh, sorry," Sharpay laughed, pulling herself away. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, no," Gabriella said, hurriedly. She grinned at Ryan and Zeke. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Gabs," Ryan said, giving Gabriella a hug.

Troy saw that she flinched when Ryan touched her. He moved closer to her as Zeke hugged her.

"Gabs, are you okay?" Zeke asked. "You seem kind of jumpy."

Gabriella glanced at Troy for a second before she answered, "I'm fine."

Troy put his arm around her and kissed her head to let her know that he understood that Gabriella did not want to tell anyone about the rape.

"Urgh," Sharpay said wrinkling her nose. "Can you guys not do that?"

"I never said a word when you and Zeke kept kissing in front of us, did I?" Troy smirked.

"Whatever, Bolton," Sharpay snapped.

"You know, guys," Troy said. "All those questions Shar just asked Gabi, you guys can answer all those for me. I thought you guys won't be back for a couple of weeks."

"We'll be leaving in a couple of days," Ryan said. "We took a small vacation."

"Okay," Troy nodded.

"Gabs, your turn to answer the questions," Zeke said.

"I just got here today," Gabriella replied. "About an hour ago or so. And, I wanted to surprise you guys."

"Oh, Gabs," Sharpay squealed again. "We have so much catching up to do. Come on, let's go shopping."

"Uh…Sharpay," Gabriella said. "I think I'll stay here today, if you don't mind. I'm feeling kind of tired."

"Okay," Sharpay shrugged. "Then, we can hang out here. Where are you staying, by the way?"

"Uh…I'm staying here for a few days until I can get a place," Gabriella answered.

"Oh, right," Sharpay grinned. "I should've known that you would stay with Troy."

Gabriella forced herself to laugh. She was feeling tired and just wanted to go and lie down. Moreover, she was starting to get a nauseous feeling again. She leaned against Troy as she got a bit dizzy.

"You okay?" Troy asked.

"I'm just feeling a bit dizzy," Gabriella muttered.

"We'll come back later," Ryan said. "You must be tired after all the traveling."

"Thanks," Gabriella said, gratefully.

"Bye, Gabs," Zeke called as he led Sharpay out followed by Ryan.

"Gabi, I have to go, too," Troy said glancing at his watch. "Is it okay if I leave or should I stay?"

"Where are you going?" Gabriella asked.

"School," Troy answered and Gabriella looked confused. "I'm the assistant coach to my dad. So is Chad."

"But, don't you own that big magazine company?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, and, I'm making pretty good money out of it," he chuckled. "Chad's the real assistant. I just go over there because it's fun. I only go sometimes, but, now, I go everyday, because Chad isn't here."

"Oh," Gabriella said. She swayed on the spot, dizzily.

"Gabi, are you sure you're okay?" Troy asked, alarmed.

"I feel really dizzy," Gabriella sighed. "I have no idea why."

"Okay, I'm calling my dad to tell him I won't be going today," Troy decided. He called Jack and left him a message and then turned his attention to Gabriella. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

"I love you, Troy," Gabriella whispered as she lay on the bed. Troy reached for a chair, but, before he could sit down beside the bed, Gabriella whispered, "Troy, will you hold me?"

Troy smiled as he got into the bed next to Gabriella. He put his arm around her as she rested her head on his chest. He stroked her hair lovingly and she snuggled closer to him. Gabriella closed her eyes and at once images from the rape came to her. She sat up on the bed immediately.

"Gabi?" Troy asked. "What's wrong?"

"I can't sleep," Gabriella cried. "I see him every time I try to sleep or even close my eyes." This was the reason Gabriella had not slept after the rape.

"It's okay," Troy whispered, soothingly as he hugged her. "He can't hurt you now."

Slowly, Gabriella lay down again. She held on to Troy tightly as he hugged her.

"Troy," Gabriella whispered. "What was that about your New Year's resolution?"

"I finished college and everything last year and I realized that I still had not found the right girl for me," Troy explained. "But, I knew exactly which girl I wanted. It was you. So I decided to find you this year. And I did not want to kiss another girl other than you."

Troy looked down at Gabriella and saw that she was drifting off to sleep. He stroked her hair again.

Finally, Gabriella went to sleep. Troy was still stroking her hair. He was drifting off as well when his cell phone started vibrating in his pocket. He reached for it and pulled it out. Gabriella, being a very light sleeper, woke up.

"Oh, sorry, Gabs," Troy said. "Go back to sleep, okay?"

"Okay," Gabriella replied and she closed her eyes again.

Troy glanced at his phone and saw that it was Jack Bolton who was calling. He answered it and spoke as quietly as he could.

(**Troy**/_Jack_)

"**What is it, dad?**"

"_Why can't you come, today, Troy? It's not easy with this many kids and even Chad isn't here._"

"**I know, dad. I'm really sorry, but, I can't go.**"

"_Why not?_"

"**Gabi's in town. She came today and is not really in a good state, so…**"

"_Gabi? You mean Gabriella Montez?_"

"**Yeah.**"

"_The one who made you see sense? The one you fell in love with?_"

"**Dad, it's kind of weird when you talk about how I fell in love with Gabi, but, that's the one I'm talking about.**"

"_Okay. Stay home. Invite her to dinner tonight. You are to come home with her, young man. We never see each other anymore, unless it's at school. I should not have let you move out. It's too lonely in that big old house._"

"**Or, maybe you miss mom?**"

"_No…yes, I made a terrible mistake and I miss your mother and Chloe terribly._"

"**Give her a call, dad.**"

"_I can't. She'll just yell at me. She's mad at me._"

"**Whatever you say, dad. But, she won't yell at you. She misses you, too. Anyway, I have to go. Gabi's trying to sleep. Bye.**"

Before Jack could say another word, Troy quickly hung up. Gabriella sat up in bed.

"What's wrong?" Troy asked as Gabriella got out of bed.

"Bathroom," Gabriella muttered as she covered her mouth and rushed into the bathroom.

"Gabs!" Troy exclaimed as he jumped out of bed and rushed into the bathroom.

He rubbed her back comfortingly as she threw up. It was almost an hour later, when Gabriella stopped throwing up. Gabriella started crying softly as Troy handed her a glass of water.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked as she leaned against Troy's chest.

Troy did not know what to say. If he said that nothing was wrong with Gabriella, it would be a lie, because people did not keep on getting sick for no reason. But, if he did say that something was wrong with her, Gabriella might think that he did not like her or something. So he said nothing and hugged her tightly.

"My dad wants to see you," he said at last, breaking the long silence between them. "He invited us to dinner at his house."

"Okay," Gabriella said.

"We don't have to go," Troy said. "I can tell him that you aren't feeling well or something."

"No," Gabriella replied. "I want to go. I'd like to see him and your mom and Chloe."

"Uh…Gabs," Troy said, pulling away from her so that he could look at her. "My parents got a divorce last year. My mom's living in Los Angeles with Chloe, now."

"Oh, Troy, I'm so sorry," Gabriella said.

"It's okay," Troy said. "It really doesn't make such a big difference since I'm living alone. I just need to drive a bit longer if I want to see my mom and Chloe."

"Oh," Gabriella looked into Troy's eyes. She could see that he was not happy. "Troy, is something wrong?"

"No, why?" Troy asked.

"Your eyes," Gabriella replied and Troy looked confused. "It's clear that you aren't happy about something, Troy."

"I…uh…" Troy did not know what to say. He did not know how Gabriella had managed to find out that he was not happy about something.

"Talk to me, Troy," Gabriella whispered.

"I'm really happy that you are here," Troy replied. "But, you keep getting sick and I'm worried about you, Gabi."

"Troy, don't be worried about me," Gabriella sighed.

"How can I not be worried about you, Gabriella?" he asked. "I love you, Gabi, and I don't mind doing anything for you. You can break down in front of me whenever you want to, but, you're throwing up all the time and you can barely stand up on your own, Gabs."

"I'm sorry," Gabriella whispered.

"No," Troy shook his head. "You don't have to be sorry. You've been through a lot and I'm here for you."

"Thank you," Gabriella said, her eyes watery.

"Come on, Gabi. Eat something, please," Troy pleaded.

Gabriella nodded slowly, giving in. Troy led her to the kitchen and Gabriella sat down by the table. She watched as Troy made her a sandwich.

* * *

**A/N Like it? Hate it? Should I continue? Tell me in a review.**


	2. Dinner with Jack Bolton

**A/N Thank you so much for the reviews. They were awesome. I love you, guys. I wrote three chapters, so, you get three today. lol.

* * *

DINNER**

"So, Gabriella," Jack smiled. "What are you doing back in town?"

Troy, Gabriella and Jack were eating dinner at Jack's house. Jack had made pasta for them and Gabriella was surprised to find out that she was enjoying herself.

"I…uh…I don't know, really," Gabriella replied, awkwardly.

"Are you looking for a job?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Gabriella nodded, quickly. She knew that she had to get a job, because she could not live on Troy's money.

"Do you want one as a teacher?" Jack asked. "I might be able to get you a job at school. You were always good at science. I think there's an opening there."

"Yeah, there is," Troy said. "Tammy's going to quit her job because she's expecting." Tammy was the current science teacher.

"There you go, Gabi," Jack smiled. "I'm sure Mr. Matsui will approve of you."

"Thank you," Gabriella said, gratefully.

"You're welcome," Jack smiled. "So, how's your mother these days?"

Troy's eyes shot to Gabriella. He could see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Jack asked. He did not know about the death of Mrs. Montez.

"Excuse me," Gabriella whispered as she hurried out of the room and out into the backyard.

Troy got up quickly to go after her.

"Troy?" Jack said looking for an answer.

"Her mom died about a month ago in a car accident," Troy explained.

Then, he hurried after Gabriella into the backyard. Gabriella was staring at the sky with silent tears streaming down her face. She did not see Troy. He wrapped his hands around her from behind and she jumped.

"It's okay," Troy whispered into her ear. "It's just me."

Gabriella turned around and hugged Troy tightly. Troy held her close to him. She cried silently into his shirt. Troy rubbed her back trying to comfort her.

"It's okay, Gabi," he whispered, soothingly.

Gabriella continued to cry. She was upset and missed her mother. She was also worn out because she had been throwing up earlier.

"Do you want to go home?" Troy asked.

Gabriella just nodded. She buried her head into Troy's shirt as he led her inside. Jack watched Gabriella worriedly. He touched her shoulder and she winced so he quickly withdrew his hand. He followed Troy outside as he led Gabriella to the car. Troy put Gabriella into the front seat, but, Gabriella was still clinging onto him.

"Gabi," Troy whispered, gently as he hugged her again. "You have to let go of me, so that I can drive you home."

Gabriella loosened her grip and Troy kissed her head lightly before pulling away. Gabriella buried her head in her hands as she continued to cry. Troy kissed her head again before he closed the door. He walked over to the other side of the car.

"I'll see you later, dad," he said.

"Troy, is she going to be okay?" Jack asked concerned. He cared about Gabriella and had always treated her as if she was her own daughter.

"Honestly, dad," Troy sighed. "I have no idea."

Jack looked worried as Troy got into his car. Troy started driving, but, he could not get himself to concentrate on the road when Gabriella was crying so hard. Finally, Troy pulled over a few blocks away from Jack's house. They were at the park and Troy glanced over at Gabriella who was shaking in fright.

"Brie," Troy whispered, using the nickname he had made for her when they had just met. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

"I…I'm s…scared," Gabriella stuttered.

Troy got out of the car and hurried over to the other side. He opened Gabriella's door and held out his hand to help Gabriella out. Gabriella took his hand and got out of the car. She was still shaking slightly. Troy held her tightly as they walked towards the lake. Both of them stood by the lake watching the stars which were reflected onto the water.

"What are you scared of, Brie?" he asked as he kissed her head.

"I keep thinking that he might come back to hurt me," Gabriella whispered.

"No one can hurt you now," Troy said, softly. "Not as long as I'm here. I'm not going to let anyone come near you, Gabi. I'm never going to let anything bad happen to you."

Gabriella relaxed when she heard Troy's words. Troy was the only guy in the world that she trusted. He was the only one that she let herself fall in love with. He was the only guy who was there for her and she knew that he would be there for her. He was also the only guy that she was completely comfortable with after the rape.

She shivered slightly as the cold air stung against her bare arms. Immediately, Troy pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around Gabriella. He put one arm around her protectively as he stuck his other hand into his pocket. He pulled her close to her and she leaned against him. It was a perfect moment.


	3. She's a keeper

The next morning, Gabriella woke up with a nauseous feeling in her stomach and rushed to the bathroom to throw up. About an hour later she walked back into the bedroom after washing her mouth and realized that Troy was not there. She, then, realized that Troy had not been there when she had rushed to the bathroom. Worried, she went into the living room and wandered into the kitchen. Troy was no where to be seen. Then, she spotted a note on the refrigerator. She hurried over to it and read it quickly.

_Hey, Gabs. I'm at school. Dad called and said that he needed me so I came. I didn't want to wake you because you were sleeping so soundly. I'll be home in time for my lunch break. See you then. Love you. Bye. Troy._

_P.S. I made breakfast for you if you are hungry. It's in the microwave. Enjoy._

Gabriella smiled as she walked towards the microwave. She pulled out her breakfast which included fried eggs, toast and sausages. Grinning like a little girl, Gabriella ate her breakfast, quickly. Then, she took a quick shower and had just made her hair when her cell phone rang. It was Troy. She answered it quickly with a smile on her face.

(**Troy**/_Gabriella_)

"**Hey, Gabs, did I wake you?**"

"_No. I've already taken a shower and had my breakfast. It was really good, by the way. Thanks._"

"**You're welcome. Are you feeling okay, today? I mean, you threw up quite a lot of times yesterday.**"

"_I had my head down the toilet for about an hour today, too._"

"**Are you okay, now?**"

"_I'm fine._"

"**Good. Uh…I just called to check on you.**"

"_Well, I'm okay. I mean, I'm really bored, but, that can't be helped. When are you going to get home?_"

"**I'm really, busy, Gabi. I don't know when I will be home.**"

"_Oh._"

"**I'm sorry, Gabi.**"

At that moment, someone knocked on the door and Gabriella jumped.

"_Troy, someone's at the door._"

"**So, open it.**"

"_Okay._"

Without hanging up, Gabriella walked towards the door and opened it. Troy stood outside the door grinning cheekily. Gabriella started laughing as she flung herself into Troy's arms.

"I missed you," she whispered into his ear.

"I missed you, too, Brie," he smiled.

"Hey, Troy," a voice called. "Why don't you close the door before you take off her clothes?"

Troy and Gabriella jumped apart. Troy grinned when he saw that it was his next door neighbour, Peter Jefferson, who lived in the next apartment. He put his arm around Gabriella again, pulling her close to her.

"Hey, Pete," he grinned. "Remember Gabriella? The girl I told you about?"

"The one you vowed to find?" Peter asked.

"I found her," Troy grinned. "Well, actually, she found me."

"Oh, you mean this is the famous Gabriella Montez?" Peter asked.

"Nice to meet you," Gabriella smiled.

"You too," Peter said. "Sorry, but, I've got to go. We'll get to know each other some other time, Gabriella. See you later, Troy. She's a keeper."

"Bye, man," Troy called after his friend.

Troy laughed as Gabriella jumped into his arms as soon as he closed the door. She had her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers playing with his hair. He spun her around, grinning, happily.

"Troy, put me down," Gabriella said, as she got the familiar sick feeling in her stomach.

"Why should I?" Troy asked as he held her tightly. "You heard what Peter said. You're a keeper. THat means I'm keeping you."

"But, I'll throw up right over you, if you don't put me down," she answered, squirming to get out of his grip, quickly. "Troy, I'm serious!"

Troy let go off her quickly as she rushed to the bathroom. Troy followed her. About an hour later Gabriella washed her mouth and drank the glass of water Troy had handed her.

"We're going to the hospital," Troy said as the two walked out of the bathroom.

"What? Why?" Gabriella asked.

"For you to get a check up," he replied.

"No way," she protested, stubbornly folding her arms. "I'm okay, really. It will pass over."

"Gabi," Troy began.

"Look, if this doesn't stop by the end of this week, then, I'll go, okay?" she asked.

"Fine," Troy sighed knowing that it would be useless to argue with Gabriella.

"So, what do we do for the rest of the day?" Gabriella asked.

"It's up to you," Troy said.

"Let's go see Sharpay and the others," Gabriella suggested.

"Are you sure?" Troy asked.

"Yeah," Gabriella shrugged. "Why?"

"Nothing," Troy said. "I thought you might have wanted to stay here because you're getting sick. But, it's your choice. Let's go."

Troy and Gabriella went to the Evans' house to have Gabriella squeezed again by Sharpay.

"Sorry," Sharpay apologized. "I just can't believe you're here."

"You better get used to it," Gabriella smiled. "I'm here to stay. I'm not moving again. At least, I don't think so."

"No," Troy said. "You _are_ staying here; Gabi and you're going to stay with me."

"When did I start taking orders from you?" Gabriella asked.

"Since you came here and didn't have a place and I took you in," Troy smirked.

"I guess I owe you," Gabriella said.

"Exactly," Troy said. "And, all I want from you is…you. Don't leave me and move again, Gabi, please."

"I'm not planning on leaving you, Troy," she smiled as he hugged her tightly.

"Okay, lovebirds," Sharpay said. "Break it up."

Troy and Gabriella laughed at Sharpay.

"Troy, Ryan, Zeke, leave!" Sharpay ordered.

"Huh?" Zeke looked surprised.

"Whoa, Shar," Troy said, holding up his hands. "What did we do?"

"You can't just kick us out for no reason, sis," Ryan said.

"I've got a perfectly good reason," Sharpay said. "Gabriella and I are going to have a girly day, today and if you _really_ want to join us, stay. But, I don't think you would want to stay."

"'Girly day' huh?" Ryan asked.

"I'm out of here," Zeke said as he walked towards the door. Ryan followed.

"Bolton?" Sharpay raised her eyebrows because Troy did not follow the other two.

"Troy, you really aren't going to stay here with Sharpay, when she is in her 'girly day' mood?" Zeke asked.

"Come here, Gabs," Troy said and Gabriella slid into his open arms for a hug. "I really don't want to stay here to join in your 'girly day' so; I'll be leaving with guys to have a 'guy day', okay?"

"Okay," Gabriella smiled.

"Take care of yourself, alright?" Troy whispered. "Remember, I'm only a phone call away if you need anything."

"I know, Troy," she said, softly. "I'll be fine."

"Good," Troy said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Gabriella said.

Troy gave Gabriella a quick kiss before Sharpay pushed him out of the door. The guys stood outside looking at him with amused looks on their faces.

"Troy, Gabriella will be fine," Zeke said.

"We all know that Sharpay used to be the Ice Princess, but, she changed," Ryan said. "I mean, she might still be all Ice Princessy-like sometimes, but not towards her friends."

"Guys, I know that Shar won't hurt Gabi," Troy grinned as the three piled into Troy's car.

"Then, what are you so worried about?" Zeke asked.

"Gabriella," Troy said, simply. "She's been through quite a lot and I'm worried about her. She isn't feeling all that well either."

"What's wrong with her?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know," Troy sighed. "She keeps throwing up all the time. She claims that it's just food poisoning."

The three had been driving for only about fifteen minutes when Troy's cell phone rang.

"Troy!" Sharpay's frantic voice came over the phone as soon as he picked up.

"Shar, what's wrong?" Troy asked as he pulled over.

"Something's wrong with Gabi," Sharpay cried, as Zeke shot him a concerned look when he realized that it was Sharpay.

"What?" Troy's eyes widened in alarm and he quickly began to turn the car around towards Sharpay's house.

"She rushed into the bathroom saying that she felt sick and hasn't come out for a long time," Sharpay explained. "She's been there since you guys left."

"I'll be there in a minute," Troy said as he hung up and started focusing on the road.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked.

"Is it Sharpay?" Zeke asked.

"No, it's Gabi," Troy said as he sped along the street. "I told you she keeps getting sick."

"She should go to the hospital to get a check up," Ryan said.

"I know, but, she refused to go," Troy sighed. "She said that she'll go if she doesn't stop throwing up by the end of the week."

"Well, only thing we can do is wait and hope that she'll get better," Zeke said.

"I know," Troy said.


	4. Never doubt the fact that I love you

About three days later, Gabriella woke up with the familiar sick feeling in her stomach. She rushed to the bathroom just in time. After an hour or so, Gabriella walked out of the bathroom. She felt dizzy. Troy was not home. He had gone to East High to help his dad. Sharpay, Ryan and Zeke had left to Los Angeles the day before. They would not be returning for about four to five months. Taylor and Chad had come back from their honeymoon, too. They had both been excited to see Gabriella. Gabriella, too, was happy to be reunited with her best friend.

Gabriella had not taken a single step towards the bed when everything went black.

A few minutes later, Troy walked into the house.

"Gabs," he called. "I'm home."

Troy received no answer. He hurried into the bedroom and instantly paled when he saw Gabriella on the floor. He called an ambulance and then carried Gabriella onto the bed. Then, Troy called Chad and explained what had happened and they agreed to meet at the hospital.

Troy was almost going mad with impatience as he waited in the waiting room. About an hour later, after arriving at the hospital, the doctor walked over to them.

"Gabriella Montez?"

Troy, Chad and Taylor stood up quickly.

"Is she okay?" Troy asked.

"She was just dehydrated," the doctor told them. "But, both the baby and Gabriella are fine."

"Baby?" Troy asked weakly.

"It seems like Gabriella is one week pregnant,' the doctor said, before walking away.

"Dude, you okay?" Chad asked as Troy sat on a chair feeling dazed.

Troy did not say a word. He knew that he was not going to be a father. He and Gabriella had not had sex since they broke up five years ago. There was only one explanation. The father of Gabriella's baby was her rapist. Troy felt his stomach turn at that thought. He did not know what to do. He had promised to be there for Gabriella, but, he did not know whether he could handle her being pregnant with someone whose father was not him. It did not seem right. It was wrong. Completely wrong.

"Troy, are you okay?" Taylor asked. "Are you going to come with us to see Gabi?"

"Uh…no," Troy decided.

"What? Why?" Taylor's eyes popped open. "Your girlfriend's pregnant! You're going to be a father!"

Of course Taylor thought that the baby was Troy's. Even she did not know about the rape.

"Tay, you don't understand," Troy sighed. "I need to get out of here. I'll see you guys later."

Taylor and Chad stared after Troy in surprise. They went to see Gabriella together.

"Hey, Gabs," Taylor said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Gabriella replied. "What happened? Where's Troy?"

"You're pregnant, Gabi," Taylor said, gently.

"Oh, boy," Gabriella sighed as she fell back onto the pillow. "Troy knows, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Chad nodded. "Just give him some time, Gabster. He'll come around."

"I don't think he will," Gabriella whispered as her eyes filled with tears.

"What are you talking about?" Taylor asked.

"Guys, you have to promise me not to tell anyone this," Gabriella said. "Troy already knows, but, no one else does."

"What's wrong, Gabi?" Chad asked.

"I'm not pregnant with Troy's kid," Gabriella said. "Troy is not the father of my baby."

"Then, who is?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know," Gabriella sighed.

"_You don't know_?" Chad asked in disbelief.

"Some idiot psycho who was wearing this large hood raped me," Gabriella cried out angrily.

"Oh, Gabi," Taylor said. "I'm so sorry."

"When?" Chad asked.

"Two days before I got here," Gabriella said. "About a week ago."

"Troy will come around, Gabs," Chad said. "I know it."

Gabriella just nodded, but, she did not believe him.

That afternoon, when Gabriella got home from the hospital, she found Troy putting some clothes into a bag. He did not see Gabriella at first.

"Troy?" she said, uncertainly.

Troy looked up, quickly. His eyes dropped down to her flat stomach before he looked at her again.

"Hi, Gabi," Troy said.

"Are you going somewhere?" she asked.

"I…uh…I'm going to visit my mom for a few days," Troy replied.

"Troy, can we talk? Please?" Gabriella pleaded. "I'm sorry."

"Look, Gabi," Troy said. "You don't have to be sorry. You can't help what has happened."

"Troy, I did not want to end up pregnant with someone whose father that I don't even know," Gabriella said. "I only wanted the father of my kids to be you, Troy. Nobody else. I didn't ask for this to happen."

"I just…I need to figure things out," Troy said. "Clear my head a little bit, but, I'll be back. I mean, Stella will kick me out of the house if I stay there for too long." Troy tried to make a joke.

"I'll miss you, Troy," Gabriella said.

"I'll miss you, too, Gabs," Troy said as he grabbed his bag. 'Don't think that I hate you, okay? Because, I don't. I love you. Never ever doubt that. I mean it, Gabi. _Never doubt the fact that I love you_"

"I won't," Gabriella said. "I love you, too, Troy."

Troy pulled Gabriella into a passionate kiss before he walked to the door and then, he was gone, before Gabriella could even respond to the kiss.

As soon as the door had closed, Gabriella fell onto her knees and started crying like there was no tomorrow. She had never felt so helpless or so lonely, A few seconds later, the door opened and Taylor hurried inside followed by Chad.

"Oh, Gabs," Taylor whispered as she hugged her best friend. "We saw Troy leave."

Chad rubbed Gabriella's back trying to comfort her.

"Why did this happen to me?" Gabriella sobbed. "It's not fair."

"Life's never fair, Gabster," Chad said. "I've known Troy since we were in preschool together, okay? And I _know_ that he will come back to you. He loves you too much to ever let you go."

"Gee, Chad," Taylor said. "When did you get so thoughtful?"

Chad pulled a face at her.

"I know that, Chad," Gabriella whispered as she stood up and wiped her tears away. "I know that he will come back."

"You do?" Taylor asked in surprise, but, Chad smiled.

"He told me that he'll come back," Gabriella said. "He had always kept his word. Why should he change now? I trust him."

"That's great, Gabi," Chad said as he gave Gabriella a hug. She was like a little sister to him.

* * *

**A/N I'm betting you guys hate me for making Gabriella pregnant. Trust me! I hate myself for doing that to her as well. But, this isn't really my story. I mean, I'm writing it, but, it's not my idea. It's an idea one of my friends gave me and she wanted me to write it, so, I'm writing it the way she wants me to. I really hope you guys won't stop reading this story just because Gabriella is pregnant. I'll update as soon as I can. R&R!!!**


	5. I'm sorry

**A/N I'm really sorry for the late update. Really really sorry. To make up for it, here're two chapters.**

* * *

Exactly a month after Troy had arrived at his mother's house, he was still feeling like crap. He had gone up to his room the moment he arrived and never came down unless it was for meals. Stella, who was now in her last year of high school, seemed to know that Troy was having some trouble with a girl. So that evening when Troy came down to dinner, she decided to confront him.

"Troy, which girl is it and what's going on between you and her?" Stella asked.

Troy looked up surprised. "What are you? Psychic?" he asked as his mother looked at the two siblings amused.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Stella grinned.

"Troy, what is bothering you?" Amanda Bolton asked.

"Gabriella Montez," Troy muttered.

"What?" Amanda asked.

"_Gabriella Montez_?" Stella asked in disbelief. "She's in town?"

"Yes," Troy said. "She came back a couple of days before I came here and she was in a terrible state. She had no place to go, so she's staying at my place and she's…pregnant."

Troy said the last word in a whisper, but, both Stella and Amanda heard him.

"Troy, that's great," Amanda smiled.

"I'm going to be an aunt?" Stella exclaimed.

"Wait!" Troy said, holding up his hands before the two could go any further. "I'm not the father!"

"What? Then, who is?" Stella asked as Amanda looked disappointed.

"We don't know," Troy sighed. "She was raped two days before she came to Albuquerque. That's the reason she came…because she had no place to go. Her mother had died about a month ago."

"Oh, she must be in a terrible state," Amanda whispered.

"She is," Troy replied.

"That's it, Troy Bolton!" Stella said, getting up and pulling Troy off his seat. "You get your stupid things right now and get out of this house."

"Huh?" Troy looked surprised.

"Yes, I'm kicking the Great Troy Bolton out of the house," Stella declared. "Go! Do _not_ come back until you have apologized to Gabriella, because, you know that you love her and don't you dare even try and tell me you don't! You march upstairs and get all your things and get out of this house."

Troy looked at Stella in surprise. Amanda chuckled, but, she did not try to stop Stella, because, she knew that Stella was doing the right thing, even though, she could be doing it in a better way.

"Mom?" Troy said.

"No comment, Troy," Amanda smiled. "Listen to your sister!"

"But…" Troy looked like a helpless little boy.

"No 'buts' Troy Bolton," Stella yelled. "Go!"

Still, his mouth open in surprise, Troy went upstairs and got his things and came downstairs within seconds. By now, he was grinning.

"Dad misses you," he whispered to Amanda as she gave her a quick hug.

"Stella, for once, I actually love you for kicking me out of the house," Troy grinned as she gave his sister a hug.

"Tell Gabi that I said hi," she called as Troy ran out of the house.

Troy drove all night, stopping at some places when he got tired, but, he arrived at his apartment, the next morning. He rushed through the door and yelled.

"Gabriella!"

There was no answer. Troy searched the apartment quickly, but he could not find Gabriella anywhere. He quickly ran out of his house and drove to Chad's house. He banged on the door.

"Troy, man," Chad said as he opened the door. "Long time no see, brother."

"Hey, Chad," Troy said as he tried to catch his breath. "Is Gabi around?"

"She went to the hospital," Chad said. "For her first ultrasound. Taylor went with her. I'm about to head over there myself…"

Chad broke off as Troy ran back to his car. Troy sped to the hospital. Chad followed in his own car.

Meanwhile in the hospital…

Gabriella was waiting for the doctor to call her name. She had a tiny bump. People would not know that she was pregnant unless she told them.

"Gabi, is there anything you want, before you go in?" Taylor asked.

"Tay, I really don't want anything except for Troy to come back," Gabriella sighed.

"Gabriella Montez?" a nurse called and Gabriella stood up, quickly. "The doctor will see you, now."

Gabriella followed the nurse towards a room, with Taylor close beside her. She was about to enter the room when…

"GABRIELLA!" Troy yelled as he burst into the maternity area of the hospital, Chad close behind him, trying to stop him from yelling, anymore.

Gabriella froze. Slowly, she turned around to see, Troy hurrying towards her.

"Looks like you got what you wanted," Taylor smiled.

Taylor backed away as he came closer. As soon as Troy got to Gabriella, he kissed her on the lips, his hands cupping her face. Gabriella was too surprised to respond.

"Gabi, I am _so_ sorry," Troy whispered. "Please, forgive me."

"We'll talk later, okay?" she said. "The doctor's waiting for me, now."

"Okay," Troy said as he kissed her forehead. "Just remember on thing, Gabi – _I'll stick with you_. No matter what happens I'll always stick with you."

"Thank you, Troy," Gabriella smiled and then she gestured towards the doctor's room. "Come with me?"

"I'd love to," Troy smiled and he followed her into the doctor's room.

"This will be cold," the doctor warned as she rubbed a gel on Gabriella's almost flat stomach.

Gabriella clutched Troy's hand as an image appeared on the computer screen. Troy squeezed her hand and grinned at her. The doctor pointed out a spot in the picture.

"That is your baby," she smiled.

Gabriella looked at Troy, her eyes shining with happy tears. Troy kissed her forehead as the two stared at the picture.

"So far, everything's fine," the doctor said. "I'll just print these out for you and be right back." The doctor left.

"Gabriella," Troy began.

"Troy, it's okay," Gabriella interrupted.

"No, it's not," Troy argued. "I shouldn't have left like that."

"Troy," Gabriella said again. "It's in the past. We'll put it behind us. Just, please, promise me that you won't leave me like that again."

"I promise, Gabi," Troy said. "I'll never leave you when you are upset."

"Thank you," Gabriella said. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Gabi," Troy smiled. "More than you'll ever know."

Gabriella smiled at Troy.

"Gabi, I want to adopt your child," Troy said, suddenly.

"What?" Gabriella looked surprised, but, she was definitely happy.

"I want to adopt your daughter or your son," Troy said. "Can I?"

"Of course you can," Gabriella said. "I told you before, Troy. I want the father of my children to be you."

"And, I want the mother of my children to be you," Troy smiled.

A few minutes later, the doctor returned with the printed images. After Gabriella was cleaned up, Troy and Gabriella went to Chad's house. Taylor and Chad had left the hospital when Troy had arrived.

"Hey, guys," Gabriella grinned as Taylor opened the door.

"How'd it go?" Taylor asked.

"Great," Gabriella grinned.

"You mean, because, Troy was there?" Chad grinned.

"Mostly," Gabriella blushed.

Troy chuckled and put an arm around her, pulling her close to him.

"So, what are you guys planning on doing today?" Taylor asked as Troy yawned.

"I'm hoping to get some sleep," Troy sighed.

"Didn't you sleep last night?" Gabriella asked.

"Where was I supposed to sleep?" Troy asked. "Stella kicked me out of the house in the middle of dinner when she found out what I had done. I had no where to go, so, all I did was drive last night, till I got here. I mean, I did park the car at some spot and tried to go to sleep, but, I couldn't. It wasn't very comfortable when Gabi wasn't next to me."

"Okay, so go and get some sleep, now," Gabriella said.

"What about you?" Troy asked.

"I'll go home with you, too," Gabriella said. "Jack called and said that tomorrow I would be starting my first day at work, so..."

"Wait, Gabs," Troy said. "I got you that job, before we found out that you were pregnant. You aren't going to work."

"No, Troy," Gabriella began to argue when Chad waved his hands in front of their faces. "What?" she snapped at him, mad at him because he had interrupted.

"Sorry," Chad said. "But, I think it would be better if you finish this conversation inside or at your house rather than having the neighbourhood hear about it."

"Gabs, we'll talk at home," Troy said. "This discussion is _not_ over."

"Fine," Gabriella grumbled.

As soon as they got home, Gabriella turned to look at Troy with a look of determination on her face. She was going to her job.

"Troy," she began, but, broke off as Troy placed a firm kiss on her lips.

"Look, Gabs," he said. "However much I tell you not to go to work, you will still go. So, I'm not going to say anything else about it, but, you have to promise me that you will take it easy. Don't rush into things. Don't stress yourself. You have to call me whenever you feel like something isn't right. And, don't refuse when I tell you to stop working and take your maternity leave."

"Okay, dad," Gabriella chuckled, rolling her eyes at Troy.

Troy, too, chuckled and he kissed Gabriella again.

"Troy?" Gabriella said, uncertainly. "Will you make love to me?"

Troy, who had been kissing her neck gently pulled away to look at her. He looked surprised. "Gabi, are you sure?" he asked. "I mean, with the rape and you're pregnant."

"I know that, Troy," Gabriella smiled. "I was thinking maybe if you made love to me, it would be easier for me to forget about the rape. So, will you?"

"I will, Gabi," Troy smiled. "Anything to make you forget about the rape, but, you have to tell me if you are uncomfortable, or if you want me to stop, or if you are scared or _anything_."

"Okay, Troy," Gabriella smiled, glad to know that Troy cared about her so much.

Troy smiled down at her before he started kissing her. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. They did not stop kissing for a minute as Troy made his way to the bedroom carrying Gabriella. He bumped into the wall as he was not paying attention to where he was going and pulled away quickly to see if Gabriella was alright.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Gabriella smiled.

"Sorry about that,' Troy said, sheepishly.

Without waiting for Gabriella to reply, Troy pressed his lips against hers again and slowly went into the bedroom. He shut the door with his foot before he went to the bed and laid Gabriella down. He lay down on the bed. His left hand was cupping her face as he kissed her, passionately. His right hand was next to her head, supporting his weight as Troy did not want to put _any_ weight on Gabriella in case he hurt the baby.

Gabriella pushed Troy so that he was lying on his back. She unbuttoned his shirt quickly and showered his sweaty chest with butterfly kisses making Troy moan in pleasure. He felt a bulge in his pants. Their lips met again and Troy's hand slid under her t-shirt and his hand worked expertly to undo her bra. Troy pulled Gabriella's shirt over her head. Gabriella undid Troy's belt and pushed down his jeans. Troy was only wearing his boxers, by then. Once again, they started kissing each other heatedly.

Finally, Troy managed to get Gabriella's bra undone. He massaged her breasts as her opening brushed against his member. Troy pushed down Gabriella's pants and smiled to see how wet she was. Gabriella pushed down Troy's boxers, too.

Troy pushed Gabriella over so that she was once again, lying flat on her back. Careful, not to put any weight on Gabriella's engorgement, he began to kiss her again. Troy pulled back to look into Gabriella's brown eyes.

"Are you sure?" he asked one final time, wanting to make sure that Gabriella did not do anything that she would regret.

"I'm sure, Troy," she whispered. "I need you inside me."

Troy nodded. "I love you, Gabi," he whispered.

"I love you, t…oh," Gabriella gasped as Troy thrust into her.

Troy waited for a minute for Gabriella to adjust. She nodded at him and slowly they moved together in perfect rhythm. Gabriella clutched Troy's shoulders as he went deeper. She breathed heavily as she thrust in and out of her. Finally, Gabriella could not take it anymore and gasped.

A minute later, Troy fell softly against her. He rolled off her and pulled her close to him covering their naked bodies with a sheet. Gabriella moved her head so that it was resting on Troy's chest. She listened to his heartbeat. Troy's hand slid down and rested on her stomach.

"I love you, Gabi," he whispered. "And, I won't let anything happen to you or to _our_ baby. I promise I'll stick with you."

Gabriella smiled when Troy said 'our'. "Thank you," she replied. "And, I love you, too."

Gabriella placed her hand on Troy's hand, which was still on her stomach.

"And, thank you," she said again. "For making love to me."

"Anytime, Gabs," Troy smiled. "I'll do that for you anytime."

Gabriella giggled, before she drifted off into a light sleep. Troy watched her for a few minutes before drifting off to sleep, too.

About an hour later, Gabriella woke up when Troy's cell phone rang. As Troy was still fast asleep (**A/N in most of the stories I read, Troy is the light sleeper so I'm making Gabriella the light sleeper in this story**), Gabriella reached over to the bedside table where Troy's phone was and answered it.

"Hello?" she said.

"Uh…who is this?" the voice at the other end asked. It sounded familiar to Gabriella, but, at that moment, she could not figure out who it was.

"Gabriella Montez" she replied.

"_Gabi_? You're in town? When did you come?" the man at the other end asked in excitement.

Then, it hit her. "_Jason_? Is that you?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's me, Gabs," Jason said, happily. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Gabriella replied. "How are you? Where's Kelsi?"

"I'm great," Jason said. "Kelsi's calling her parents on her cell phone. We've got news for you guys. Where's Troy, by the way?"

"He's asleep," Gabriella answered. "Should I wake him up?"

"Yeah," Jason said eagerly.

Gabriella poked Troy in the ribs and he groaned. She giggled. "Troy, wake up," she whispered into his ear. "Jason's on the phone."

Troy's eyes popped open when he heard that Jason was on the phone. He had not heard from his friend for a long time and was eager to talk to him.

"Hey, Jase," Troy said grabbing the phone from Gabriella. "Where've you been? I thought you died, man."

Gabriella could hear Jason laughing on the other end.

"I thought you died as well, man," Jason said. "Hey, put me on speaker. Kels and I've got news for you."

Troy put Jason on speaker.

"You're on speaker, Jase," Gabriella said and heard a loud shriek.

"Gabi! Is that you?" Kelsi asked. Obviously, Jason had put them on speaker too.

"Hey, Kels," Gabriella grinned.

"You're back in town? When?" Kelsi asked.

"I came here a few weeks ago," Gabriella replied. "But, that's not important, right now. What's your big news?"

"Kelsi's pregnant!" Jason exclaimed.

"That's great, Kels," Gabriella exclaimed.

"Congratulations, guys," Troy smiled.

"How far along are you?" Gabriella asked.

"Just two weeks," Kelsi replied.

"We're thinking of going back to Albuquerque for when the baby arrives," Jason said. "We want our kid to grow up where we grew up."

"Albuquerque's definitely a great place to raise kids," Troy said to Jason and Kelsi as well as to Gabriella.

"When will you guys be coming back?" Gabriella asked eager to see her friends.

"We're not sure," Jason said. "Probably in three or four months."

"Oh, Sharpay, Zeke and Ryan will be arriving in four months, too," Gabriella said. "It'll be fun with all of us together."

"Yeah, it would," Kelsi said. "We've got to go now."

"We're going to call everyone else," Jason said.

"Cover your ears when you call Shar," Troy said.

They all laughed before they hung up.

"Troy, when do I tell Sharpay, Kels and the others about me being pregnant?" Gabriella asked.

"First of all, there's no 'I' in this, Gabs, I'm in this with you, too," Troy said. "Second of all, if you tell them, they'll ask whether it's my baby, so, what are you going to say to them? I mean, are you going to tell them the truth or are you going to lie to them?"

"I can't lie to them, Troy," Gabriella whispered. "It wouldn't seem right. I'll have to tell them the truth. I'll have to tell them about the rape."

"Look, Gabs," Troy said, pulling her close to him because she looked so upset. "Why don't you forget about it, for now? Why don't you tell them when you see them? I think it'll be easier to talk to them, face to face. But, it's your choice."

"I'll wait," Gabriella decided.


	6. The gang arrives

**A/N So, I wrote this chapter again. I'm really sorry for the whole mix up thing with Gabi. To make it up to you, here are two chapters instead of one. )**

* * *

Four months passed by since Troy had returned from his visit to his mother. Jack had learned the truth about the father of Gabriella's baby – who had started to kick a month ago giving Gabriella sleepless nights.

Troy, Taylor and Chad were waiting at the airport. Kelsi, Jason, Sharpay, Ryan and Zeke were coming to Albuquerque from Los Angeles. Gabriella was home because she was feeling tired. It was a Saturday and she did not have to go to school.

"Where are they?" Chad asked for the tenth time since they arrived at the airport.

"They'll be here," Taylor said, patiently.

"I'm going to call Gabi," Troy said and he walked away from Chad and Taylor so that he could talk to Gabriella in private.

"Hello?" Gabriella answered the phone on the first ring.

"Hey, Gabs. It's me. Just wanted to see how you're feeling," Troy said.

"I'm nervous. What if they hate me when they find out the truth?" Gabriella asked.

"Don't worry, Gabs," Troy said.

"Troy!" a voice called and Troy turned to see that his friends had arrived.

"I've got to go, Gabs," Troy said, quickly. "They're here. We'll be home soon. Everything's going to be okay."

"Okay, Troy," Gabriella sighed. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Gabi," Troy said walking towards the others. "Bye."

"Troy can't stay away from Gabi for too long," Taylor teased.

"Shut up, Taylor," Troy said as he gave Kelsi and Sharpay a hug. Kelsi had started to show as well.

"Where's Gabriella?" Kelsi asked.

"She's at home," Troy said. "She's staying at my place."

"Why didn't she come?" Jason asked.

"She's not feeling her best right now, so, I made her stay home," Troy said, a bit nervously.

"Let's go see her, Jase," Kelsi said.

"Okay," Jason shrugged. He wanted to see Gabriella too. "Is it okay with you, Troy?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Troy said. "Gabi wants to see you, too."

The gang headed over to Troy's place. Gabriella was lying on the couch watching the news.

"Hey, Gabs," Troy said as he walked over to her. He helped her up.

"Hi, guys," Gabriella said nervously, as everyone except Chad, Taylor and Troy stared at her. Chad and Taylor went to stand by her. Troy had his arm wrapped around her, protectively.

"Gabriella, are you pregnant?" Sharpay asked. She just wanted to make sure, though it was kind of obvious.

"Yes," Gabriella said.

"Is it Troy's?" Kelsi asked.

"Uh…no," Gabriella said, softly.

"What?" Sharpay looked mad. "Then, whose is it?"

"I…uh…I don't know," Gabriella whispered.

"_You don't know_?" Sharpay asked, furiously. "How many guys did you sleep with not to know who the father of your baby is?"

"Shar," Gabriella began. "Let me expl–"

"Who knew that you were such a…_slut_?" Sharpay asked, cruelly.

Taylor gasped as Gabriella backed away. Troy and Chad looked furious. Troy moved towards Sharpay.

"Sharpay, shut up, will you?" Troy yelled, angrily.

"Why are you sticking up to her?" Sharpay asked. "She's a slut. She's had sex with so many guys that she doesn't even know the father of her baby."

Everyone was silently watching Troy and Sharpay.

"Sharpay, listen to me, okay?" Troy said in a soft, but, stern voice that made everyone in the room freeze. Troy was one of the people who could control a whole bunch of people with the way he spoke. Controlling Sharpay was no problem for him. He grabbed her shoulders and looked at her in the eye. "Gabriella has been through a lot and you don't know even half of it. You'll give her a chance to explain because she wants to be honest with you guys. If she wanted to lie, she could have just said that the baby was mine and ended it, but, she wants you guys to know the truth about the baby and the father and everything else and she would only be able to tell you if you give her a chance to explain, so, how about it, Shar?"

Sharpay stared at Troy for a long moment and then glanced at Gabriella who was looking at her with pleading eyes and a tear stained face. She nodded slowly and Troy let go of her. He walked over to Gabriella and wrapped his arms around her protectively. She hugged him tightly and then pulled away, wiping her tears away as she did so.

"What happened to you, Gabi?" Kelsi asked as she walked over to her old friend. "I've missed you, by the way."

"I missed you, too," Gabriella smiled. She looked at all the others who were staring at her. "What happened to me is a long story. About two days, before I got here, I was raped. I wasn't taking care of myself properly because I was too disappointed because my mom had passed away a month ago and now, here I am. Back here in Albuquerque…with Troy."

the gang except for Taylor, Chad and Troy stared at her for a long time before Sharpay finally broke the silence in the room.

"I…I'm sorry, Gabi," she whispered, her voice cracking as tears rolled down her face. "I'm really sorry. I didn't know, honestly. I had no idea something like this has happened."

"It's okay, Shar," Gabriella smiled.

"No, it's not okay," Sharpay argued. "You can't just forgive me like that."

"Too bad," Gabriella said. "I just did. And you, my friend, are just going to have to deal with it, whether you like it or not."

Sharpay smiled. She launched herself at Gabriella and Gabriella's eyes widened when she saw he coming. She hid behind Troy and Sharpay went ran into Troy.

"Well, I know that you like me, Sharpay, but, I didn't know that it was this serious," Troy joked as Sharpay pulled away and hit his chest.

The gang stayed at Troy's place to have fun. It was the first time the entire gang had been together for a really long time.

The gang had just left and it was nearly midnight when Troy's cell phone rang.

"Hello?" Troy said as he grabbed the dirty cups from his free hand. Gabriella started to help, but, Troy glared at her making her put the plates down.

"Hey, Troy," it was Jack.

"Dad? Why are you calling at this time?" Troy asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just…Stella and your mother are moving back here to Albuquerque," Jack replied.

"What?" Troy nearly dropped the phone in surprise.

"Apparently, L.A. was not for them," Jack said.

"Oh, maybe, mom just missed you," Troy said, slyly.

"Your mother and I thinking about giving it another shot," Jack said.

"That's great, dad," Troy exclaimed. "When are they coming?"

"Uh…now," Jack said.

"What?" Troy said, just as the doorbell rang.

Troy opened the door to see the rest of his family standing outside. He stared at them before he pulled Stella into a hug. The bond he and Stella had was extremely special, even though they had little fights.

Gabriella stood watching Troy as he hugged his mother. Troy looked at her and gestured her to come over.

"Oh, Gabi," Amanda said. "It's been such a long time."

"Hey, Amanda," Gabriella smiled as they exchanged a hug.

"Hi, Gabriella," Stella said.

"Hey, Stella," Gabriella smiled. "Troy told me about how you kicked him out of the house. Thanks are in order."

"No problem," Stella shrugged. "It was my pleasure. Let me know if you need him out of the house and I'll do the honours."

"Okay," Gabriella laughed. "But, this is his apartment, so I think; it would be me who's going to get kicked out."

"Nonsense, Gabi," Troy said. "I would never kick you out."

"So, aren't you even going to let us in, Troy?" Jack asked.

"Oh, yeah," Troy said, stepping aside so that his family could enter. "Why are you guys here so late? Not that I don't want you here."

"We just got here," Stella explained.

"Hey, Troy?" Gabriella said softly.

"Yeah," Troy looked at Gabriella wondering if something was wrong.

"I'm going to bed, okay?" she said.

"Yeah," Troy replied and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll go later, okay?"

"Okay," Gabriella shrugged. "Night."

"Night," Troy smiled and watched as she went to the bedroom and closed the door. He looked at his family to see them staring at him with amused look on their faces. "What? Am I really that amusing?"

"Yes," Stella said at once.

Troy lunged at Stella and caught her, tickling her.

"Why'd she go just as we arrived?" Amanda asked.

"She's had a long day," Troy said. "First there was Sharpay finding out that she was pregnant. Gabriella said that she didn't know the father and before she could explain about the rape, Sharpay had started yelling at her, calling her a slut. Then, the gang stayed here and just left. I was about to clean up when you guys came."

"You really love her, don't you?" Jack smiled.

Troy raised an eyebrow. "Do you even have to ask?"

Jack laughed. "I guess not," he smiled.

Stella yawned. "I'm tired," she said.

"I'm kind of tired, too," Amanda said.

"Why don't you guys stay the night?" Troy asked. "I mean, it's pretty late."

"Where are we going to sleep?" Jack asked.

"The couch's big enough for two people," Troy said. "Stella can sleep with Gabi and you guys can take the couch."

"What about you?" Amanda asked.

"I'm going to clean this place a bit," Troy said. "And, then I'll figure something out."

"I think we'll just go home," Jack said.

"Okay," Troy shrugged.

"We'll go now," Jack said. "Come home for lunch, okay? You and Gabi?"

"Yeah," Troy nodded.

Jack and Amanda got up to leave when they noticed that Stella had fallen asleep on the couch. Amanda was about to wake her up.

"Just leave her, there," Troy said. "I'll take her home when she wakes up."

"Okay, Troy," Amanda said. "Good night."

"Night," Troy said.

After Jack and Amanda left, Troy quickly cleaned up the mess left by the gang. Then, he covered Stella with a blanket.

"Night, Troy," she murmured.

"Night, Stel," Troy said, before he went to his room. "Gabs? Are you awake?"

"Hey, Troy," Gabriella said.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" he asked as he got into bed next to her.

"How am I supposed to sleep?" Gabriella snapped. She was in one of her mood swings and Troy was still getting used to those.

"Whoa! Calm down, Gabs," Troy said, realizing that the baby was restless. "If you baby's kicking then that means that it'll be healthy."

"I know, but, I want to sleep," Gabriella said.

"I know, Gabi," Troy said.

Gently, Troy massaged her baby bump, and Gabriella fell asleep after a couple of minutes. Troy wrapped his arms around her and fell asleep, too.


	7. Three kids and a shake up

The next day, Gabriella was getting ready to go over to the Bolton house for lunch. (Stella had gone home earlier) Troy came into the bedroom. He had gone downstairs to wait for Gabriella, but, then realized that something was wrong with the car. It would not start. So, he went back upstairs to tell Gabriella and she suggested that they walked. Troy was adamant about this, but, Gabriella insisted that she would be fine.

The couple had not gone too far when a woman walked up to them carrying a baby, who had light blond hair and the bluest eyes ever – which were identical to Troy's eyes.

"Excuse me?" the woman said.

"Uh…do I know you?" Troy asked. The woman was familiar, but, he could not place her in his mind.

"Yes!" the woman snapped. "Remember the Christmas Eve parry. Not last year's party. The party some guy named John had the year before?"

"Yeah," Troy said, slowly as the memory came flooding to him. This woman was the person that he had slept with after he had gotten drunk that night.

"You, idiot," the woman yelled. "You left me pregnant with this _thing_ that night."

"I'm a dad?" Troy gasped.

"Yes, you are a fucking father," the woman screamed. "But, I am not going to be the fucking mother of your child. I have been searching for you everywhere in Los Angeles since this thing came."

"I was only in Los Angeles for the party," Troy explained, still trying to take in the fact that he was a dad. "I live here, in Albuquerque."

"I figured that out," the woman yelled, sarcastically. She thrust the sleeping baby into Troy's arms. "Here. You take your fucking baby and stay out of my life. I don't want to have to bother about some stupid kid."

"Uh…" Troy just stared at the woman. The baby had started crying.

"His name is James and he is eight months old and his birthday is 7th September," the woman said. "You give him your stupid name. Goodbye."

The woman walked off and Troy stared after her in surprise. Gabriella, who had not said a word the entire time, touched his shoulder.

"Troy? Are you okay?" she asked, softly.

"I…uh…I don't know," Troy said. "I've been a dad for eight months and I didn't know. I don't even know the name of my son's mother. Oh, god, Gabi! I don't know the first thing about being a father."

"Maybe, the first thing would be to get him to stop crying," Gabriella said, gently.

"Right," he nodded. "Let's just go to my dad's house, Gabi. They ought to know that they are grandparents and that Stella is an aunt."

James rested his head on his father's shoulder and fell asleep as Troy started walking. He sucked his thumb.

"He's adorable," Gabriella smiled.

"I know," Troy grinned. He had lost his heart to his son, already, after just holding him for a few minutes. "I'm a dad! Oh, Gabi! Maybe you can adopt James and I'll adopt your child and then we can be a proper family!"

"That sounds great, Troy," Gabriella smiled.

They arrived at the Bolton house, shortly. Gabriella rang the doorbell and James woke up at that moment. Stella opened the door and gaped at James. Troy walked past her, still carrying James, followed by Gabriella. Jack and Amanda were in the kitchen. Troy went to the kitchen. Neither Amanda nor Jack looked up.

"Uh…guys," Troy said. "I have to tell you something."

Both Jack and Amanda looked up. Their reaction was the same as Stella – who, by now was standing at her mother's side.

"Troy, who is that?" Jack asked.

"He looks just like you did when you were a baby," Amanda gasped.

"Uh…I don't know exactly how to say this, but…" Troy hesitated and glanced at Gabriella who smiled at him encouragingly. "I'm a dad. You guys are grandparents. Stella's an aunt. This is James…Bolton."

"Troy? How?" Jack muttered.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Amanda asked.

"I would've told you," Troy said. "But, I just found out, too." Then, Troy quickly explained everything about the woman and about the Christmas Eve Party.

"You mean she's gone and you don't even know her name?" Stella asked.

Troy just nodded. He could not think of anything to say.

"Troy, promise us that you'll be more responsible now that you are a father," Jack said.

"I promise, dad," Troy said.

"Well, he's so cute," Amanda said as she went over to Troy and James.

She held out her hands at James, but, James turned away in fright and buried her head in Troy's chest. Troy laughed as everyone else smiled.

"Hey, James," Troy whispered. "This is your grandma. Trust me; you want to stay on her good side because she's the greatest cook ever."

Amanda laughed as she ruffled the little boy's hair.

"I'm an aunt!" Stella yelled suddenly, jumping up and down, just as James decided to go to Amanda.

"Finally sank in, huh?" Troy grinned as he pulled his sister into a hug. "I'm glad my favourite sister is happy."

"Troy! I'm your _only_ sister!" Stella exclaimed.

"Stella, I just found out that I have a son. It's been a secret to me all these days," Troy grinned. "Maybe I have more sisters, too."

"Don't bet on it," Jack said as he tickled James.

Everyone laughed. Troy realized that Gabriella had not said a word since they had arrived at the Boltons.

"Hey, Gabs," Troy said, walking over to her and pulling her out of the kitchen, so that, they could have some privacy. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Gabriella smiled.

"You are pretty quiet," Troy said.

"It's nothing, Troy," Gabriella said. "It's stupid really, for me to even think like that."

"What'd you think?" Troy asked.

"I thought you were going to forget about me because you have a son, now and with your parents getting back together," Gabriella replied. "You looked so happy in the kitchen."

"You're right," Troy said and Gabriella looked up at him, hurt, obviously thinking that he was going to forget about her. "You _are_ stupid!"

"Idiot," Gabriella said as she punched him lightly on the arm. "Troy, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah," Troy said, looking at her expectantly.

"How many girls did you sleep with after we broke up?" Gabriella asked unable to look at Troy in the eye. She was feeling a bit jealous.

"Only that woman," Troy said. "I was drunk. She wasn't. That's the reason she probably recognized me when I didn't know who she was."

"Oh," Gabriella said as they heard James start crying.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Troy asked looking a bit upset.

"No, no, no," Gabriella said, hurriedly. "I believe you. Now go, your son's crying."

Troy smiled and gave her a quick kiss before he walked back to the kitchen. He held James close to him and he settled down immediately. After a few moments, James fell asleep. Troy took him up to his old room and put him to bed there.

"Goodnight, James," he said – even though it was not the night time - kissing his son's forehead, before going downstairs.

"No, Gabriella," Amanda was saying. "You go and sit down. Jack and I will prepare lunch."

"What's going on?" Troy asked.

"Gabriella wants to set the table," Jack explained.

Troy raised an eyebrow at Gabriella and she gave in. She sat down at the table. In truth, she was actually tired after walking from Troy's apartment to the Boltons.

"How'd you do that?" Stella asked in surprise. "We've been trying to get her to sit down all this time and she wouldn't. Then, you come in and without saying a word you just look at her and she gives in?"

Troy and Gabriella laughed as Troy went to sit by her. "It's a gift," he said, grinning slyly.

Stella ran towards Troy and punched his arm, lightly. Troy laughed and pulled her down next to him. He put his arm around her and the other around Gabriella – the two people he loved most in the world (other than James, now).

"What do you think mom?" he grinned. "Picture perfect?"

"Just what I was thinking," Amanda chuckled. "I'll get the camera."

"No, mom. I don't want a picture," Troy began, but, Amanda had already walked out of the room.

Troy tried to remove his hands, but, both Gabriella and Stella had clutched his hand forbidding him from moving his arms.

"Ohh," Troy groaned. "Come on, guys."

"I want this picture, Troy," Stella said. "Me, my annoying brother and my coolest soon-to-be sister."

Troy and Gabriella raised their eyebrows at Stella when she said 'soon-to-be-sister'.

"What?" Stella asked Troy. "You aren't telling me you guys aren't going to get married, because, one, Gabriella is already thinking about walking down the aisle towards you and two, you are already thinking about how to ask Gabriella to marry you."

The couple gaped at Stella in surprise as Jack roared in laughter. It was true. The two had thought about the things that Stella had just said. Just then, Amanda came with the camera and snapped a couple of pictures.

After lunch, James woke up and started crying. Troy did not know what to do. Whatever he did, James would not stop crying. Gabriella had fallen asleep on the couch. Jack and Stella had gone to buy everything that James would need – like a bed, stroller, clothes, bottles, etc. Troy had given them the money because he refused to let his father pay for his son. Amanda was the one who was with Troy.

"He's hungry, Troy," Amanda said.

"What do I do?" Troy asked worriedly. "There's nothing here to give him."

"There's one of your old bottles somewhere here," Amanda said. "I'll make one for him."

Troy followed Amanda with James and watched as she made a bottle. "Why do you still have my bottles, mom?" he asked.

"Because, I want to keep them," Amanda said. "I'm a mother, Troy."

"Okay," Troy said as he sat on the armchair and gave James the bottle. He settled down immediately. "Mom, how did this happen?"

"How did what happen?" Amanda asked as she sat on a stool next to him. Gabriella, who was asleep, stirred in her sleep.

"Everything," Troy said "How'd I end up with such a great girlfriend and an adorable kid and an awesome sister and two cool parents? That is, not to mention that I have the most amazing friends and a great job. I mean, do I deserve all of this?"

"Troy," Amanda smiled. "After all the hard work you have done to open the magazine company, after being there for Gabriella after all she went through, after being a great brother – to whom Stella looks up to – and after being a wonderful son, I think you deserve this, Troy. But, you're still young. You've got a long life ahead of you, Troy. Along the way, you are still going to learn new things. You are learning now, too. Like becoming a parent. You might face with a major crisis, but, you'll learn to deal with it. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but, Gabriella will certainly be with you all the way, with your three children."

"Three?" Troy asked in surprise.

"Since James is not really Gabriella's child and since her child won't really be yours," Amanda said. "I'm pretty sure you'll have at least one more child that belongs to the both of you."

Troy smiled. "I'm going to adopt Gabi's baby, mom," Troy said. "And, she might adopt James, too."

"Not 'might' Troy," Gabriella spoke up from the couch. She had been listening to their conversation for a while. "I will adopt your child."

"Thank you, Gabi," Troy smiled and Gabriella smiled back.

"And, Amanda," Gabriella said. "I'll be really glad if things turn out the way you predicted. With three kids, I mean."

"So, you want a kid?" Troy asked Gabriella. "I mean, another kid?"

"Of course," Gabriella smiled as she sat up.

"Then, I'd have the perfect family," Troy grinned.

"There's nothing like a perfect couple or a perfect family, Troy," Amanda laughed.

"My family will always be perfect to me, mom," Troy said. "No matter what will happen."

"Think like that, Troy," Amanda smiled. "It's good for you."

"Hey, mom, can you call Derek and ask him to fix my car?" Troy asked. "Something's wrong with it. And, tell him that he can ride it here if he wants to."

"Who's Derek?" Gabriella asked.

"The guy next door," Troy replied. "He's a mechanic and absolutely loves my car."

"Okay, Troy," Amanda said as she walked out of the living room to make the call, knowing that Troy just wanted to be alone with Gabriella.

"Gabi," Troy began, seriously. "I want to talk to you."

"About what, Troy?" Gabriella said as she placed a hand on her growing baby bump.

"Your job," Troy replied.

Gabriella sighed as she looked at Troy. She did not want to stop working. "Troy, I'm not going to stop work," she said.

"Gabi, you know what happened yesterday," Troy said, gently. He got up with James, who, had finished his bottle, and went to sit by Gabriella. "It's not good for the baby."

"But, Troy," Gabriella whispered. "I need that job."

"Why?" Troy asked as James sat up on his lap.

"Because, I can't accept you to pay for me and when the baby comes, for the baby, too," Gabriella explained. Her eyes were a bit watery.

"Gabi," Troy chuckled. "Don't be stupid. Just give up your job. Don't feel bad about me spending money on you and your baby. I want to spoil her and James as much I can."

"Her?" Gabriella asked. "You want it to be a girl?"

Troy shrugged. "I'd love it the same, but, yeah," he smiled. "I want a girl. I mean, I've already got a boy."

Gabriella smiled and kissed his cheek.

James got closer to Gabriella and she smiled again. She lifted him onto her lap and he placed his hands on her stomach and started making some noises. Troy and Gabriella stared in surprise.

"What's he doing?" he asked.

"Maybe he knows that there's a baby," Gabriella said.

"Troy," Amanda called. "Derek said that he'll be over with your car in half an hour. Stella and your dad will be home in a couple of minutes, too."

"Okay, thanks, mom," Troy called back.

James looked surprised when Troy spoke so loudly. He had a scared look on his face and Troy could not help laughing. Gabriella smacked his arm.

"Don't laugh," she scolded. "He's scared."

Troy tried to stop laughing. Now, he was laughing at Gabriella, not at James. Then, suddenly, he stopped.

"Gabi, are you serious about all this?" Troy asked.

"About what, Troy?" Gabriella asked.

"The adoption," Troy replied.

"Of course, Troy," Gabriella answered, slightly shocked.

"I just wanted to make sure," Troy smiled. "When do we do it? The paperwork?"

"Let's just do it as soon as possible," Gabriella suggested.

"Works with me," Troy said. "I'll call my lawyer."

Gabriella smiled at Troy. He kissed her gently on the lips.

"Ahem," a voice behind them said. "I don't think it's appropriate for you to be kissing in front of your son."

Troy blushed as he turned to see his father looking at him. "Hey, dad," he said, sheepishly.

"All the things needed for James is in your apartment," Jack said. "Honestly, with another bed there, there's hardly any space to move around. And, I'm pretty sure that there'll be yet another bed in there soon."

"Yeah," Troy sighed.

"Troy Bolton," Stella's voice rang through the house.

"In here, Stel," Troy called and James looked at him again. He laughed and lifted James onto his lap. "Prepare yourself to hear more loud voices, Jamie."

"Troy Bolton, you are one stupid guy," Stella said walking over to him shaking his finger as if he was a little kid. "You own a huge company and you are filthy rich."

Jack cleared his throat and Stella looked at him. "What?" she snapped.

"Don't use that kind of language in this house, Stel," Jack said.

Stella glared at him and immediately Jack left the room. She turned back to Troy. "Honestly, how are you planning on living in the apartment, with two kids and Gabi?"

"I'm not planning on living there," Troy said. "There's this house nearby the school and I bought it. Trust me, Stel. We'll all be comfortable there."

"It better be," Stella said. "How many rooms are there?"

"Four bedrooms," Troy replied. "A dining room, a kitchen, a living room, a huge backyard with an average size pool. The backyard's already got the swings and I put a basketball hoop there, too. Oh, yeah. I forgot about the garage. And, the master bedroom's got a balcony, too. Happy?"

"Ecstatic," Stella grinned and she walked out of the living room.

"When did you buy it?" Gabriella asked.

"Last month," Troy replied. "I realized I wanted a big house with little kids running around. I wanted a house where you'd be waiting for me when I come home from work. I wanted a house where our kids would be happy."

"That's so sweet," Gabriella smiled as Troy put his arm around her.

"We can move into it today, I think," Troy said as she leaned against him.

"Today?" Gabriella asked. "That's so soon. What about our things in the apartment?"

"Don't worry," Troy said. "It'll be taken care of. You're going to love the house. It's like a mini-mansion."

"Will it feel like a home?" Gabriella asked.

"Definitely," Troy smiled. "We'll go when the car gets here, right?"

"Yeah," Gabriella said just as they heard a honk.

"Speaking of," Troy smiled and he got up. Gabriella was about to get up, too, but, Troy protested, "No, stay here. I'll come and get you when it's time to go, okay?"

"Okay," Gabriella said, gratefully.

"Troy!" Amanda called as Troy walked out of the living room with James in his arms.

"Mom, no need to yell," Troy chuckled. "I'm right here."

Troy walked outside where Derek was waiting with the car. He paid Derek and they talked for a while, mostly about James. Then Derek left. Troy went back inside to find Gabriella and was glad to see that his dad had brought James's car seat to the house. After putting James into his car seat, Troy and Gabriella drove off to find there new house.

Troy was right. Gabriella loved it. Everything was unpacked, too, except for the few items which were in the apartment. She stood outside staring at the walls. The flowers outside were beautiful. There were daisies everywhere and Gabriella loved daisies. Troy led her to the back with a now sleeping James in his arms. There was a big swing there with the swimming pool a little way away. There were benches all around the place, too. Then, Troy led Gabriella into the kitchen. It was not too big nor was it too small. The dining room was adjoined to the kitchen. The living room was huge with a huge plasma screen television complete with a DVD player. Then, Troy led her upstairs where there were four bedrooms. The first one was the master bedroom. It had a huge double bed and a walk in closet that would have been enough for about four people. There was also a dresser and night tables with reading lamps on them. Then, Troy showed Gabriella the next three rooms. They were bare.

"We can decorate these rooms anyway we like," Troy explained. "I was thinking for James and for the baby, when it comes."

"There's still one room left," Gabriella pointed out.

"Well, if our near future turns out to be anything like my mom said," Troy smiled. "I think we'll need that room."

"I love you, Troy," Gabriella said as she kissed him.

"I love you, too, Gabi," Troy smiled. "I'll be back. I'm going to put this little one into bed." James had fallen asleep in the car.

Since there was no bed for James yet, Troy put him in the master bedroom. After leaving the door open so that they could hear if he started crying, Troy went downstairs. at that moment, the workers brought all of the stuff that had been bought for James. Troy showed them where to put them. Gabriella was watching Troy as he came with a book of wallpapers. He showed it to Gabriella.

"Which one would James like?" he asked.

Gabriella immediately pointed to the wallpaper with basketballs all over it.

"I have a feeling that James is going to be a basketball fan," she smiled as Troy grinned.

"Don't worry," Troy said. "I'll make him one."

"Just don't push him to it," Gabriella said. "He'll start to hate you if you do."

"I know," Troy said. "I shouldn't make him do what he doesn't want to do."

"Yeah," Gabriella said as she placed her hand on her baby bump. "But, I'm pretty sure he'll follow in his father's footsteps."

Troy chuckled. "But, I'll be glad if he has got some of you in him," he said. "I don't want him to get low grades."

Gabriella laughed, too. She leaned back on the couch and sighed. Troy looked at her alarmed.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Gabriella said, quickly. "I'm just so lucky. I mean, I have you and James. Soon, I'm going to have a baby. And, I'll be living in the coolest house ever with the one I love."

Troy smiled. "I'm really lucky, too," he whispered. "For all the reasons you just said. But, are you sure that's the only thing that's bothering you?"

"I'm tired," Gabriella muttered.

"Then, go to bed," Troy said. "I'll call the gang and tell them to come over to help me wallpaper James's room. When should I wake you up?"

"In an hour or two," Gabriella said.

"No problem," Troy said as he helped Gabriella up from the couch. He gave her a quick kiss before letting her go upstairs.

Then, Troy quickly called Chad.

"Hello?" Chad answered after the phone had rung for a minute or too. He sounded out of breath.

"Dude, are you racing a marathon?' Troy chuckled.

"Actually, me and Tay are –" Chad began, but, Troy cut him off.

"Dude, I don't want to hear about you and Tay having sex," he said, firmly. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over, now. With Tay and the rest of the gang."

"Now?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, now," Troy rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry to interrupt yours and Taylor's sex session, but, Gabi and I are moving to our new house and we could use some help."

"You and Gabi are moving?" Chad asked.

"Yeah," Troy replied. "My apartment's too small for the both of us plus three kids."

"Three kids?" Chad asked.

"Put Taylor on the phone," Troy sighed.

"Hey, Troy," Taylor said a moment later. "What's up?"

"Gabi and I are moving to our new house," Troy said. "The one I showed you the other day? Anyway, I could use some help. It's not easy with Gabriella so tired and asleep and having a kid sleeping upstairs."

"Whoa! Slow down, boy," Taylor said. "Kid?"

"I have a son," Troy explained. "I slept with some person about a year ago and today she dumped the kid onto me and left without giving me any information about herself so I can never find her. He's so adorable Tay. Gabriella says that he's like a mini-me. His name's James."

"Wow!" Taylor said. "Don't worry. We'll be right over. Want me to ring up the rest of the gang?"

"Yeah, thanks," Troy said, gratefully. "And, could you pick up the wallpaper that I'm going to order. Pay them and when you get here I'll give you the money."

"Will they give it so quickly?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah," Troy said. "My cousin Orlando owns that place."

"You mean the Orlando wallpaper shop, right?'" Taylor said. "Sure, we'll pick them up for you."

"Thanks, Tay," Troy said gratefully before he hung up. then, he called Orlando and ordered the wallpaper he wanted.

Troy was about to drop onto the couch when he heard James start crying. Sighing, Troy rushed upstairs, before Gabriella was disturbed. James was sitting up on the bed with watery eyes. Gabriella lay asleep next to him. James saw Troy and raised his short arms, waiting to be picked up. even though Troy was feeling a bit tired, he could not help but smile when he saw James. He quickly picked up James and walked downstairs. He lay down on the couch with James sitting up on his stomach, waiting for the gang to arrive.

A few minutes later everyone arrived. Troy and the boys left the girls cooing over James to put up the wallpaper.

"So, what does it feel like to be a dad?" Chad asked.

"Great," Troy grinned. "It's amazing."

"That's good to know," Jason said.

Troy glanced at the clock. "Hey, guys, I'll be right back," Troy said.

"Where're you going?" Ryan called.

"Gabi's asleep," Troy said. "She told me to wake her up in an hour or two and it's been three hours."

"Three hours since we've been at this?" Zeke asked.

"Yup," Troy said. "Time flies, huh?"

"Yeah," Chad nodded. The room was almost done. They only had to put the furniture in place. "Why don't you just go to Gabi and we'll finish this?"

"Thanks, guys," Troy said as he walked out of the room and into the next room which was there room. Gabriella was still fast asleep. He walked over to the bed and bent down and whispered in her ear, "Hey, Gabs."

Gabriella opened her eyes. She looked up at Troy. "Hi," she said. "Thanks for waking me up. I'll just wash my face and I'll be right down."

"Yeah, sure," Troy said and he walked back into James's room.

"How does this look like?" Ryan asked.

"Awesome," Troy said. "I owe you guys big time."

"No problem," Zeke said.

"Why don't you guys go downstairs?" Troy asked. "I'll sweep this place up and I'll be there."

The boys left and Troy started sweeping. The room looked very nice. Everything needed for a baby was there. Ironically, Jack and Stella had picked out the baby furniture in basketball designs. Troy laid down the carpet on the floor and smiled. The place looked great.

"The place looks great," a voice called.

Troy turned to see Gabriella smiling at him. "Yeah, I know," Troy smiled. "But, I think, maybe we should spend the night at our apartment. We'll move in properly tomorrow. Our clothes and stuff are still there."

"Good idea," Gabriella said.

The two and James spent the day with James. After cleaning the house properly and making it ready to be moved in, Troy, Gabriella and James headed to the apartment.

What neither of them knew was that there was supposed to be an earthquake that night.

Just as they got into the apartment, they all went to the living room. James was wide awake in Troy's arms. Gabriella sat on the edge of the bed, which was near by a cupboard with glass doors. It was Troy's book case. Troy sat down next to her. He put his arm around her and she leaned against him. James was jumping up and down on Troy's lap.

"Everything's going to change, right?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah," Troy replied.

Before anyone could say another word, the place began to shake.

"What's going on?" Gabriella cried out, scared to death.

"It's an earthquake," Troy exclaimed.

He got down on to the floor with James and pulled Gabriella down. Gabriella lay down on the floor and took James in her arms. Suddenly, Gabriella screamed. Troy looked back to see the bookcase shaking. Books were falling out of it. James had started crying. Troy, as scared as everyone else, lay on top of Gabriella and James, trying his best not to put any weight onto them. His arm was holding up most of his weight. The books hit his back and Troy groaned in pain. At least, James and Gabriella were safe. Then, the bookcase crashed on top of the three and Gabriella and James screamed in fright. Troy screamed in pain. His arm was at the verge of giving away, too.

A minute later, everything settled down.

"Gabi, are you okay?" Troy asked.

"I think so," Gabriella replied, shaken up. "The same goes for James."

"Good," Troy said, sighing in relief. "Okay, now when I say go, I need you to move from underneath me with James, okay?"

"Okay," Gabriella said.

Troy braced himself and put all of his weight on his palms. "GO!" he yelled.

Gabriella got out of the way as fast as she could. It was not easy, seeing that she was pregnant and that she was holding James. As soon as they were safely out of the way, Troy's hands gave away and he hit the floor. He yelled in pain as something sharp stuck into his back.

"Troy!" Gabriella screamed. "Are you okay?"

"Gabi!" Troy said. "Call my dad."

Gabriella nodded and called Jack quickly as Troy tried to get out from underneath the bookcase. It was not easy as he was losing so much blood – a big piece of glass was stuck onto his back – and he did not have much strength left. His eyes were slowly closing and Gabriella noticed.

"No, Troy," she sobbed. "Stay with me."

It was Gabriella's voice that gave Troy strength again. He tried to get up one last time and achieved. The first thing he did was hug Gabriella and James.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, but, you aren't," Gabriella cried.

"I'll be okay," Troy said as he lay down on his stomach again. "Look after James for me for a bit."

"Troy," Gabriella cried. "Don't leave me."

"I won't leave you, Gabs," Troy said. "I'll never leave you."

"TROY!" Jack's voice yelled as the door burst open. "Are you okay?"

"Dad," Troy said. "We need to go."

"What happened?" Stella asked.

"This happened," Troy groaned as he pointed to his back.

Stella, Amanda and Gabriella gasped. The cut was very bad. Jack got into action and helped Troy up.

They got into the hospital and Troy was wheeled to the emergency room. He had to do surgery and after a couple of hours of waiting, the doctors came out.

"The surgery went well," the doctor said. "But, Troy dropped into a coma."

"Will he wake up?" Amanda asked.

"We aren't sure," the doctor said. "I mean, if he wants to wake up, then he will. There's nothing we can do about it."

"Doctor!" a voice called and a nurse rushed over. "Bolton's awake."

"What?" the doctor exclaimed. He grinned at the waiting people. "That's a miracle."

The doctor hurried to Troy's room and a while later visitors were allowed. Jack and Amanda went first with Stella. Gabriella stayed behind with James to give them sometime alone. A few minutes later, the three walked out of the room and gestured Gabriella to come. She moved forward with James asleep in her arms. She walked in and saw Troy smiling, but, his smile disappeared when he saw Gabriella.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Huh?" Gabriella looked confused. "Nothing?"

"You're carrying James," Troy said. "You really shouldn't do that, not until the baby arrives."

Gabriella laughed. "It's okay, Troy," she smiled.

"No, seriously," Troy said. "I'm forbidding you from carrying him. anyway, daddy has missed his boy too much and needs him, now."

"Daddy's boy is asleep," Gabriella said, as she placed James in Troy's arms. Then, she kissed Troy on the lips before she sat down by him and then, the two watched James sleep.

As the hospital was crowded after the earthquake, Troy got out of there as soon as he could. They saw James's mother. According to the doctors, she was no longer alive. Her name was Lindsay Parker. It was hard to believe that someone they had seen a couple of hours ago was now dead.

When they went back to the apartment, it was in ruins. So, they went to their new house, which was luckily the way they had left it, except for a few fallen chairs and two broken windows. Troy and Gabriella put James to bed together and then went to their room to sleep.

"It's been one weird day, Gabs," Troy said.

"I know," Gabriella sighed. "A tiring one, I might add."

"But, I wouldn't exchange it for anything," Troy said. "I wouldn't have had James if today hadn't happened."

"I love you, Troy," Gabriella whispered. "Good night."

"Love you, too, Gabs," Troy replied. "Night."

At about half past three in the morning, Gabriella woke up with a sudden craving for a sandwich. She got up and had barely taken a few steps, when, Troy woke up.

"Where're you going?" he asked, groggily.

"I'm hungry," Gabriella said.

"Oh, right," Troy said. "Your cravings. You've been waking me up every other night. Why not tonight?"

"You just had a little accident," Gabriella shrugged.

"And, I don't care," Troy said as he got up. "You get back into bed and I'll get you whatever you want to eat. What do you want to eat?"

"A sandwich with everything in it," Gabriella said. "And maybe a brownie or two."

Troy chuckled and shook his head as he headed downstairs to make a sandwich. After he finished making it, he put her meal on a tray and carried it upstairs…

…to find that Gabriella was fast asleep. He chuckled again and set the tray on the night table, knowing that she would want it sometime. He got back into bed and was nearly asleep when James let out a cry from the next room. Troy shot up as Gabriella woke up. She started on her meal as Troy hurried to James's room.

Troy returned with James in his arms. He was also carrying his bottle. Troy sat on the bed, leaning against the bed frame and gave James the bottle. After he had finished, Troy put it on the night table and sat there hugging James close to him. As he was too tired to go back to James's room, he just sat there. A few minutes later, father and son, both fell asleep. Gabriella finished her meal, too, and she fell asleep after watching Troy for a few minutes.

* * *

**A/N I told you that there would be surprises coming your way. Anyway, review! And I'm really sorry about that other chapter.**


	8. Caitlyn Maria Bolton

Gabriella had finished eight months of pregnancy and was keen to get over giving birth. She just wanted to hold her little girl in her arms – Troy and Gabriella had gone to the doctor earlier and had found the sex of the baby. Gabriella and Troy were both thrilled. They had decorated one of the remaining rooms for the baby, too. Everything was ready for her, except that she was not ready to come to the world and it was driving Gabriella crazy.

James had also started to call Gabriella 'mom'. He did not say the word dad properly, yet. He could only say 'dada', but, both, Troy and Gabriella were thrilled. James got quite upset when Gabriella could not hold him for too long. Then, he would go to Troy who he loved as much as Gabriella. It was going to be a handful for Troy and Gabriella when the baby came, because, James could not even walk, yet.

Troy walked into his house with eleven-month-old, James. They had gone to the park, together for a walk.

"Gabi, I'm home," Troy called as he shut the front door.

"In the kitchen," Gabriella called back.

Troy went to the kitchen and put James in his high chair and gave him a toy. It was not his feeding time, but, James loved to sit on his high chair and play. Troy looked at Gabriella who was eating a sandwich. One hand was resting on her eight month old baby bump. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and placed his hands on her stomach. He felt the baby kick.

"I got great news," he said as he sat down next to her.

"What is it?" Gabriella said as she fed him a bite of her sandwich.

"James is officially your son, now," Troy grinned. "And, your baby girl is my daughter. The adoption stuff is finally over. Everything's great."

"That's great, Troy," Gabriella said as he kissed her.

"I know," he grinned. "It's really amazing. Now, I can't wait to hold _my_ daughter."

"It's not your daughter," Gabriella argued. "It's our daughter."

Troy smiled and gave her a kiss on her forehead. He got up and walked over to the refrigerator. He grabbed a carton of milk and was about to open it when…

"Troy?" Gabriella said, in a very weak voice.

Troy looked up in alarm when he heard her voice. "Are you okay, Gabi?" he asked worriedly, hurrying over to her. "What's wrong? Is something wrong with the baby?"

Gabriella nodded. "The baby's coming," she whispered. "My water broke."

Troy's eyes widened. He grabbed his cell phone and called Taylor and explained what was going on. Then, he called the ambulance. Taylor and Chad arrived a minute before the ambulance and they agreed to take care of James.

Gabriella was settled into a private room. Troy sat by her side, holding her hand. After a couple of contractions, Gabriella was given an epidural to help her through them.

"Troy," Gabriella said after a contraction. "Where is everybody?"

"They're all waiting in the waiting room," Troy explained. "Do you want to see them?"

Gabriella nodded and her friends came to see her after Troy had gone out to tell them that she wanted to see them. Their friends all came and wished her luck. Jack, Julie and Stella came after them with James.

"Hey, Gabi," Amanda smiled, warmly. "How're you feeling?"

"I've been better," Gabriella replied and grabbed Troy's hand as another contraction hit her.

"Your contraction's bothering you?" Amanda asked.

"I'm surviving," Gabriella smiled, once the contraction had passed over.

"Good luck, Gabi," Jack smiled.

"Bye, Gabs," Stella said.

James gave Gabriella a hug before he was taken out with the rest of the Boltons – except for Troy.

About fourteen hours after getting into labour, the doctor finally said that Gabriella was ready to deliver. Troy went to scrub up and met Gabriella in the delivery room within seconds.

"Okay, Gabriella," the doctor said. "On the count of three, give a big push, okay? One…two…three!"

Gabriella screamed as she pushed with all her might. She started crying and Troy squeezed her hand gently.

"I can't do it," she sobbed.

Troy glanced at the doctor who was watching Gabriella. Troy looked back at Gabriella and kissed her forehead.

"Of course you can do this, Gabi," he said. "You're a strong person. Besides, don't you want to hold your daughter in your arms and watch as it becomes a daddy's girl?"

Troy grinned cheekily and Gabriella could not help smiling.

"Ready, Gabriella?" the doctor asked. "Again, on the count of three, alright? One…two…three!"

Gabriella pushed hard and a few minutes later, she fell back as a cry filled the room.

"Troy? Would you like to cut the cord?" the doctor asked Troy and Troy cut the umbilical cord.

Gabriella and the baby was cleaned up and settled back into the room in half an hour. Troy removed the scrubs. Then, their friends and the Boltons went to visit the newborn.

"She's adorable," Sharpay cried out.

Gabriella laughed and leaned against Troy as he put his arm around. James was sitting on Troy's lap.

"Daddy!" he exclaimed suddenly making Troy's eyes snap to him from the newborn. He grinned slowly. It was the first time James had said the word 'daddy' properly.

"What is it, Jamie?" Troy asked, using his nickname for James.

"Baby," James said, pointing to the baby girl which was now in Taylor's arms.

"Yeah," Troy smiled. "Baby. Do you want to hold her?"

James nodded, slowly after staring at the newborn for a long time. Troy removed his arm from around Gabriella and placed the newborn gently in James's arms. He did not let go, knowing that James would not be able to hold her properly and might let go any minute.

"Okay?" Troy asked and James nodded satisfied. Troy laughed as he handed the baby to Stella.

"She looks just like Gabi," Stella said.

She was right. Caitlyn looked exactly like Gabriella. She had her eyes and the few strands of hair she had were brown in colour.

"So what's her name?" Jack asked.

"Um…it's a Bolton," Gabriella said, and quickly looked at Troy as if asking for his permission.

Troy's grin widened. "Really?" he asked and Gabriella nodded. "Thank you."

"What about the first and middle name?" Kelsi asked smiling in amusement as she watched Troy grin like a kid.

"I want the middle name to be Maria, after my mom," Gabriella said, at once.

"Okay, baby," Troy said as he put his arm around her once again.

"Okay, we've got a middle name and a last name," Ryan said. "What about the first name?"

"You chose, Troy," Gabriella offered.

"I don't know," Troy said. He thought for a minute. "What about Caitlyn? I've always liked that name."

"Okay," Gabriella said as Amanda placed the baby girl in her arms. She smiled down at her daughter who was cuddled up close to her breast. "Welcome to the world, Caitlyn Maria Bolton."

Caitlyn hiccupped and everyone laughed. Troy stood James up on his lap, because, James was trying to see Caitlyn.

"I think she likes her name," Troy commented and Gabriella leaned back against him, smiling. And they watched their daughter sleep.

James yawned. "Mommy," he said, holding out his hands to Gabriella. Troy took Caitlyn from Gabriella's arms as Gabriella took James into hers.

"What is it, baby boy?" Gabriella asked James.

"Jamie sleepy," James said as his eyes drooped.

Gabriella smiled down at the sleepy boy in her arms. She finally had a proper family – something she had wanted for an extremely long time. James hugged her and fell asleep within seconds.

"Should we take him for the night?" Amanda offered.

"Thanks," Gabriella said, gratefully, but, when Amanda tried to take him James woke up and started crying. He was a light sleeper, unlike Troy.

"What is it, Jamie?" Troy asked as Taylor took Caitlyn into her arms. ""Come here. Do you want to go to Grandpa's house tonight?"

"Daddy come?" James asked.

"Daddy has to stay with mommy," Troy said. "Is it okay?"

"Daddy come!" cried James.

"I'll drop him off at the house and I'll be back in a couple of minutes," Troy told Gabriella, who nodded. "Mom? Are you guys going to go home now?"

"Yeah," Amanda said seeing that Troy wanted to be with Gabriella again as soon as he could. "Let's go, now."

After dropping James off at his dad's house, Troy came back to find that Gabriella was already asleep.

* * *

**A/N: So, I know it's been very long since I last updated and I'm really sorry for that. Here's a new chapter and I'll try and post a new chapter tonight or tomorrow morning. R & R!!!**


	9. An apple, a shooting & Jake

* * *

About a month later, Troy and Gabriella had finally settled down with James and Caitlyn, properly. Everything was going great for everyone. Kelsi had given birth to a beautiful baby girl whose name was Jessica Cross. James was now a one year old and was taking tiny steps around the house.

Troy and Gabriella loved James and Caitlyn more than life itself, but, they wanted to have some time to themselves. They had no idea what to do. They did not want to dump their kids onto someone else. It would be too much to ask for. Both, Taylor and Chad had sensed this and had decided to do something about it. They wanted their friends to have time alone without the kids and be happy. So, they decided to take James and Caitlyn to their home for a day.

"Taylor, what are you doing?" Gabriella asked as she and Troy watched Taylor pack James's and Caitlyn's things.

"Doing you a favour," Taylor replied.

"What kind of favour?" Troy asked. "Kidnapping our children?"

"Very funny, Bolton," Taylor said.

"You guys want some time alone," Chad said. "We're giving you some time alone."

"We'll take James and Caitlyn for the night," Taylor said. "We'll bring them over tomorrow morning."

"Thanks, guys," Gabriella said, gratefully as she hugged Troy.

"No problem," Chad said. "Just create number three, while we take these two away."

"Chad!" Taylor exclaimed hitting Chad on his head.

"What?" Chad asked as Troy and Gabriella blushed. "That's what they are going to do, anyway."

Troy and Gabriella laughed as they watched Taylor and Chad walk out of the house with Caitlyn, James and all the things that would be needed.

Troy collapsed onto the couch as soon as they had left. Gabriella watched him. He looked so tired.

"What are you going to do today?" she asked.

"I don't know," Troy sighed. "You got anything you want to do?"

"Sharpay did take me shopping to Victoria's Secret the other day," Gabriella smiled slyly.

"You came back with a tiny bag," Troy remembered. "What could possibly fit in the bag?"

"I don't know," Gabriella said. "Maybe a tiny outfit.'

Troy's eyes widened and he gulped. "Are you going to show me that outfit?" he asked.

"Why don't I just model it for you?" Gabriella asked Troy.

"I'm sure I'll love that," Troy grinned.

"Awesome," Gabriella said, pulling Troy up and leading him to a chair. "Sit here and remember to keep your hands to yourself."

Troy sat down on the chair wondering what Gabriella was going to do.

"I can't trust you to keep your hands to yourself, can I?" she asked. "I'll be right back."

Gabriella walked into the kitchen and came back with some light rope. She tied it around Troy's hands as tightly as she could, but, it was not very tight. She kissed Troy's lips. 'I'll be back in a couple of seconds," she whispered. She put on _Sexyback_ by _Justin Timberlake_ and hurried upstairs.

As promised, a few seconds later, Gabriella emerged at the top of the stairs wearing a pink and black lingerie. She was not wearing a bra; just a small thong.

Troy felt a bulge in his boxers when he saw when he saw Gabriella. Troy gulped as Gabriella began to shake her hips and dance in time for the music. He watched as Gabriella strutted towards him, dancing sexily all the way. Troy groaned as she sat down on his lap, putting her legs on either side of him. He wanted to touch her so badly. Gabriella unbuttoned his shirt to reveal his sweaty chest and showered it with butterfly kisses. Her opening brushed against his member and Troy could not take it anymore. With all the strength he had, he tore the rope open and grabbed her head and kissed her. Gabriella squealed in surprise, but, that did not stop her from kissing back. Troy lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom. He shut the door with his foot and laid her on the bed.

"Troy, I was going to pleasure you," Gabriella whispered as he kissed her neck.

"Shh," Troy murmured, nibbling on her earlobe. "Let me return the favour baby."

He took off the lingerie and the thong, and smiled when he saw how wet she was. He spread her legs apart and stuck his tongue into her opening. Gabriella gasped and groaned as Troy tasted her. She pumped up and down in a fast pace.

Troy looked up and licked his lips. "Delicious," he grinned.

"My turn," Gabriella smirked.

Troy obediently lay down and Gabriella took off his boxers. She gasped.

"Troy, you're so big," she said.

Troy grinned proudly but gasped when she licked the tip of is cock teasingly. He pushed her head and she took him in giving him a blow job. She bit and sucked at a steady rhythm that Troy followed. Gabriella then kissed his lips. Their eyes met and both of them became solemn. Troy kissed her again before pushing gently into her. Gabriella clutched Troy's shoulders as they moved steadily; screaming out each other's names. Soon, they reached their climaxes. Troy rolled off Gabriella and kissed here again before covering their naked bodies with a sheet.

Troy and Gabriella spent the day in bed, constantly making love to each other. Finally, the sun had set when they dragged them off the bed to get something to eat. They took a shower together, which led them to make love to each other, once again. Finally, after a long shower, Troy and Gabriella got dressed.

"Troy, are you trying to get me pregnant?" Gabriella asked as they sat down to eat some pizza.

"What?" Troy looked surprised.

"I mean, you've been making love to me nearly all day, and we haven't been using any protection," Gabriella smiled. "Do you want me to get pregnant?'

"Gabi," Troy said. "What kind of question is that? Do you want to get pregnant?"

"I want at least three kids," Gabriella decided.

"Me, too," Troy smiled. Gabriella had finally gotten over the rape. She was more comfortable around the guys and did not jump or flinch whenever a guy touched. Troy was very proud of her.

Troy and Gabriella made love late into the night. For the first time in a long time, Gabriella was happy.

That evening, Troy and Gabriella sat across from each other as they ate their dinner in a comfortable silence. Troy had taken her to an expensive, romantic, Italian restaurant. When they finished their desert, Troy quickly paid and they got out of there. Troy drove to the beach.

When they got to the beach, Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella from the back and rested them on her stomach. Together they watched the full moon in silence. The only sound was heard was the crashing of each wave. Troy and Gabriella's love story was still young and it was still being renewed with the crash of each wave.

"It's beautiful," Gabriella whispered, referring to the moon.

"Just like you," Troy replied, softly. He kissed her neck, gently.

"Troy," Gabriella whispered.

"Yeah," Troy murmured against her neck.

"Not here," Gabriella said. She was not a big fan of PDA.

Troy turned Gabriella around to face him. He smiled at her lovingly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a red velvet apple. Gabriella raised her eyebrows wondering what it was. Troy laughed when he saw her confused face.

"What is that?" she asked and tried to take it away from Troy.

"You'll know soon enough," Troy said holding it out of her reach with one hand and grabbing her waist with the other, pulling her into a hug.

"I want to know now," Gabriella pouted.

"Fine," Troy said.

Troy put his arm around her and they began to walk down the shore together.

"The past couple of months have been great," he said. "I remember the first time I saw you after a long time. You were thinking that you were a weak person, but, then you've realized that you aren't. I'm really proud of you for that. You've learnt to live with the bad stuff and the good stuff. You've given me a daughter, and you've become a mother to my son. I love you for that, Gabriella. I do, with all my heart. And I want to ask you something important and I really hope that you won't make me upset by not –"

Gabriella grabbed Troy's hands. "What is it?" she asked. "You're blabbing, now."

"Right," Troy chuckled.

He held up the apple and was about to speak when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out and checked the caller ID.

"It's Stella," Troy frowned. "I told her not to call me tonight."

"It must be important," Gabriella said. "Answer it."

"Hello?" Troy said into the phone.

"Troy!" Stella cried. Her voice was troubled and Troy immediately knew that something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Stel?" Troy asked, frantically.

"There's a shooting at school," Stella said and the apple slipped out of Troy's hands. "Dad was working late and he hasn't come out of the school, Troy. I have to find him, Troy, but, they won't let me go."

"No, Stel!" Troy said. He did not notice Gabriella picking up the apple. "You can't go into the school. It's far too dangerous, okay? Stay with mom. I'll be there as soon as I can, okay? Just stay put."

"Okay, Troy," Stella said. Troy could hear her crying as he hung up.

"What's going on?" Gabriella asked.

"There's a shooting at school," Troy explained. "My dad's in there. He hasn't come out and Stella's frantic. I have to go."

"I'll go with you," Gabriella said at once.

"No!" Troy declared. "It's too dangerous. You might get hurt. Ryan's house is just across the road. Stay with him and explain what happened. I'll call you when everything's settled."

"But, Troy," Gabriella began to protest.

"No, Gabi," Troy said, firmly. "You might get hurt. Think of the baby. It might get hurt."

Gabriella nodded and finally gave in. Troy took her to Ryan's house and sped to the school. The whole place was crowded with policemen and teachers. Troy spotted Stella and Amanda by one of the lamps.

"Stella!" Troy yelled as he ran towards her, his coat flying.

Stella looked up and rushed into Troy's arms as he got nearer.

"Where's dad?" Troy asked.

"We don't know," Amanda said. "He hasn't come out."

Just then, the gun went off.

"That's the second time," she said.

"It'll be okay, mom," Troy said. "I'm going to talk to them, okay? You guys stay here."

He gave Amanda a hug before hurrying towards the officers.

"Excuse me," he said to the nearest one. "I'm Troy Bolton."

"Andy Scott," the officer said.

"Look, my father is in there," Troy said, urgently. "I need to know if he's okay."

"What's his name?" Andy asked.

"Jack Bolton," Troy replied.

Andy talked through the walkie talkie and then he turned to Troy.

"Your dad's out of the school," Andy said and Troy breathed a sigh of relief. "But, he's been shot."

"What?" Troy gasped. "Is he alive?"

"Yes," Andy said. "He's being taken to the hospital. He got shot twice."

"Damn it!" Troy yelled. "Who's the bastard here?"

"Troy!" Stella called.

"He got shot twice," Troy explained as he walked over to them. "He's being taken to the hospital. Let's go."

Troy drove to the hospital as fast as he could with Amanda and Stella. At the hospital, they were informed that Jack was in surgery. He called Gabriella and told her what was going on. He really needed her there with him. After calling Gabriella, Troy sat in the waiting room, away from his mother and Stella. He wanted to be either alone or with Gabriella.

"Troy!" a voice called.

Troy looked up and saw Gabriella hurrying towards him. He stood up and hugged her as soon as she got close enough. Troy felt tears roll down his face. He tried to wipe them away, but, Gabriella noticed. She led her to the chair again.

"Come on, Troy," she whispered. "Let everything out. You can't keep them bottled up inside."

Troy let the tears roll down his cheeks as Gabriella hugged him. For once, he did not try to stop them from coming, but, he stopped after just a couple of minutes.

"Thank you," he whispered to Gabriella.

"What for?" Gabriella asked.

"For being here for me," Troy shrugged.

"You don't have to thank me for that," Gabriella said. "You've been here for me for a long time, especially when I needed you."

Troy hugged her, close to her. They stayed like that till the doctor walked over to them.

"Jack Bolton?" the doctor asked and Troy stood up, along with Stella, Amanda and Gabriella. "Surgery went fine, but, he slipped into a coma."

"Is he – when is he going to wake up?" Troy asked, nervously.

"I'm sorry, but, we don't know that," the doctor said. "We think that he'll wake up in a couple of hours."

Troy nodded. The doctor handed him some papers sign and Troy signed them quickly. Then, the Bolton family went to visit Jack. Halfway there, Troy noticed that Gabriella was not with them. He turned around to see her sitting on a chair in the waiting area. He walked back to her.

"Why aren't you coming?" he asked.

"I just thought you guys might need some time alone," Gabriella said. "Just the family."

"Gabi," Troy said pulling her up. "You're coming with us. You're family, Gabi. You're _my_ family."

"Thanks, Troy," she smiled.

The two walked into the room. Stella and Amanda were sitting on one side of the bed. Jack was lying on the bed, unconscious, with a heavily bandaged arm and chest. According to the doctor, one bullet had gone into the arm and the other went into the chest. Gabriella squeezed Troy's hand to let him know that she was there. They sat down on the other side of the bed.

"Come on, dad," Stella whispered.

"Wake up," Troy said, softly.

Amanda was crying too hard to say anything.

"Mom," Troy said. "Go home. I'll call you if anything happens. You need some rest."

"But, Troy," Amanda protested. "I have to stay here."

"No, mom," Troy said, firmly. "You're worn out. I promise I'll call you if anything happens."

"Listen to him, mom," Stella whispered. "Come on. I'll take you home."

A few minutes after Amanda and Stella had left, Troy looked at Gabriella. She was leaning on his shoulder staring at Jack.

"Gabi," he said. "You should go, too."

"No, Troy," Gabriella said. "I'm staying here with you."

"Thank you," Troy said, gratefully.

They sat together watching Jack for about three hours when Gabriella finally decided to ask Troy something that had been on her mind ever since he had left her at Ryan's.

**FLASHBACK**

_Troy gave Gabriella a quick kiss before he rushed out to the car. She watched him drive away and then entered Ryan's house. He gave her a friendly hug. Ryan watched as Gabriella turned the apple in her hands._

"_What is that?" Ryan asked._

"_Troy dropped this when Stella told him what was going on," Gabriella explained._

"_Can I see it?" he asked._

_Gabriella tossed it to Ryan who examined it a bit before he realized that it could be open._

"_Whoa!" he said as soon as he saw what was inside._

"_What is it?" Gabriella asked and Ryan showed her the most beautiful engagement ring she had ever seen. It was white gold with a big diamond on top. "He bought it for me?"_

_Ryan nodded and smiled as he watched Gabriella look at the ring in admiration._

**END FLASHBACK**

She pulled out the apple from her purse. She opened it and handed it to Troy.

"What is this, Troy?" she asked.

"Tonight was not supposed to be like this," Troy explained as he took the apple from her. "Tonight was supposed to be the night when you said yes to me when I propose to you on the beach."

"What?" Gabriella gasped.

Troy bent down on one knee. "Gabriella Montez," he said, softly. "You have given me everything I could possibly wish for. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she whispered.

Troy grinned as he slipped the ring onto her finger. He got up and pulled her into a passionate kiss which was filled with every ounce of love he had.

"I'm proud of you, son," Jack whispered.

"Thanks, dad," Troy smiled, not registering what had happened. He did not take his eyes off Gabriella. Their eyes widened at the same time when they realized that Jack had woken up. "Dad!"

"Jack!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Gabs, get a doctor," Troy said pulling out his cell phone to call Amanda. "Dad, how long have you been awake?"

"Long enough top know that tonight should not have been like this," Jack said.

Troy laughed. "Good to have you back, dad."

"It's good to be back," Jack smiled. "Now, where're your mom and Stella? We've got a wedding to plan!"

"Wedding?" Stella asked as she walked into the room with Amanda. "Who's wedding?"

"Troy and Gabriella's, of course," Jack exclaimed as he hugged Amanda and Stella.

"What?" Amanda and Stella exclaimed.

Gabriella held up her hand with the ring, grinning all over her face. Stella flung herself into Troy's arms.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she cried, happily.

Troy laughed. "For what?"

"For making Gabi my sister," Stella exclaimed.

"You know what, little sis," Troy said. "I'm glad she agreed to be my sister. I didn't think she would, considering that it hasn't been a year since we met again."

Gabriella smiled as Amanda hugged her whispering a 'congratulations'.

"Thank you," she whispered back.

"Why don't you two go home and get some rest?" Amanda suggested.

"And, create number three," Stella said grinning slyly.

"Stella!" Amanda groaned as Gabriella and Troy laughed. "Don't annoy your brother like that, even though I was thinking the same thing. Now, go home or you'll be grounded Troy."

"But, I don't even live with you," Troy protested.

"Do I look like I care?" Amanda asked. "I'm still your mother and you'll do as I say. Off you go."

Everyone laughed as Troy and Gabriella walked out of the room. Troy drove home quickly. As they opened the front door, they could here both James and Caitlyn crying. They hurried into the living room to find Chad holding a crying James and Taylor holding a wailing Caitlyn.

"What happened?" Troy asked as he picked up James. Gabriella went to Caitlyn knowing that she was hungry and took her to the bedroom to feed her.

"Chad was watching this movie and some explosion came waking them both up," Taylor said glaring at Chad.

"Should've known," Troy grinned as he hugged James close to his chest. "It's okay, Jamie. Daddy's here."

"Mommy?" James asked.

"Mommy went to feed the little one," Troy said, wiping away James's tears. "She'll be here in a while, okay?"

"Okay," James said. He put his head on Troy's shoulders and sucked his thumb.

"So, did you ask her?" Chad asked Troy. He was the only one who knew that Troy was going to propose to Gabriella.

"Yeah, but things didn't go the way I planned them to," Troy said.

"What happened?" Chad asked.

"Shooting at the school," Troy explained. "Dad got shot. He's okay, now."

Chad nodded, but, Taylor still looked confused. "What's going on?"

"Long story short," Troy said. "Gabi and I are engaged."

Taylor squealed, happily just as James was about to fall asleep. His eyes snapped open and he let out a cry.

"I'm sorry," Taylor blushed. "We'll go, now. And congrats."

"Thanks," Troy said as he followed them to the door. "And, thanks for watching them."

"You're welcome," Chad called as they walked to the car.

Troy shut the door and went upstairs.

"Daddy," James said, softly.

"What is it, Jamie?" Troy asked as he passed Caitlyn's room. Gabriella was putting a sleeping Caitlyn into her crib.

"Jamie hungry," James replied.

"Do you want a bottle?" Troy asked as he walked into James's room.

James nodded. Troy put James into his bed and quickly made a bottle. He handed it to the little boy and watched as he drank. Gabriella was right. At the age of one, James was already a big basketball fan and Troy was glad. James finished the bottle and held it up.

"That's a good boy," Troy smiled as he took the bottle from James. "Now, go to sleep, okay? Tomorrow, you and I will play some basketball together, so, you're going to need your rest."

"Okay, daddy," James said as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Good night, daddy."

"Night, Jamie," Troy whispered.

He put the empty bottle on the dresser and switched on the baby monitor. Then, he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him, quietly. Gabriella walked out of Caitlyn's room at the same time. Troy smiled when he saw her. He hugged her tightly.

"Is she asleep?" he asked.

"Yeah," Gabriella replied. "James?"

"I think he'll be asleep, now," Troy said. "This leaves us alone."

"Yeah," Gabriella smiled as she leaned against Troy. "But, I'm really tired. I don't want to do anything."

"Come on, baby," Troy said, pulling her towards their bedroom. "We don't have to do anything. I just want to be with you."

"I'd like that," Gabriella smiled.

* * *

The next morning, Gabriella and Troy woke up with a jump when they heard two loud cries fill the house. 

"Which one?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"I'll take James," Gabriella offered. "I didn't really see him last night."

"I'll get Caitlyn," Troy shrugged.

Troy and Gabriella went to the separate rooms and returned to their bedroom with James in Gabriella's arms and Caitlyn in Troy's arms. Caitlyn was cuddled up against Troy's chest. Her eyes were slowly closing. Gabriella watched her with a smile on her face.

"Mommy!" James screamed. He wanted some attention.

Caitlyn's eyes flew open because of the scream and started crying. Troy, who had been drifting off, woke up, too. He hugged Caitlyn close to him and she settled down.

"Jamie," Gabriella said, gently. "You must be quiet when Caitlyn is asleep, okay?"

"Okay, mommy," James said, solemnly.

Gabriella laughed at his face and pulled James into a hug. Troy moved closer to the two and put his arm around Gabriella.

"Daddy," James said. "Jamie hold Caty?"

"Okay, Jamie," Troy said. He patted the small spot between him and Gabriella and said, "Sit here. Don't drop your sister, okay?" he laughed as he placed Caitlyn in James's arms.

He did not let go of Caitlyn. This was becoming a usual routine. James would go to Troy every morning, saying that he wanted to hold Caitlyn. A few minutes later, James looked at Troy. This was the signal for Troy to take Caitlyn away. Troy took Caitlyn out of James's and a moment later, she began crying.

"She's hungry," Gabriella said.

"I'll get James dressed and then we'll have breakfast, alright?" Troy asked as he handed Caitlyn to Gabriella.

"Yeah," Gabriella smiled as she started feeding Caitlyn.

Troy took James and dressed him. After putting on some clean clothes, he went downstairs, just as the doorbell rang. Troy put James into his playpen and went to open the door. A man – slightly older than Troy – stood outside.

"Um…may I help you?" Troy asked the man.

"I'm here to see Gabriella Montez," the man said. "I'm her cousin, Jake."

Troy raised an eyebrow. There was something fishy about Jake.

"Hold on," Troy said. "I'll go and get her."

"Okay," Jake shrugged.

Troy did not let him. Instead, he left the door open and went to the foot of the stairs and called, "Gabs! You've got a visitor."

A few minutes later, Gabriella came downstairs with Caitlyn in her arms.

"Who came?" she asked.

"Jake," Troy replied and Gabriella looked confused. "Your cousin?"

"I don't have a cousin named Jake," Gabriella said, more confused than ever.

"Then, who's at the door?" Troy asked.

Together, Troy and Gabriella walked back to the door with James, who was once again in Troy's arms. They found a terrible sight waiting for them. Gabriella backed away when she saw it. Fear filled her brown eyes.

Jake stood their pointing the gun at Troy, Gabriella, James and Caitlyn.

"Dude!" Troy said. Even he was scared of anything happening to his family. "What are you doing?"

"Do you remember me, Gabriella?" Jake asked, as he moved closer to Gabriella.

Gabriella shook her head as she moved closer to Troy, who put his arm around her.

"I thought you would remember the incident," Jake said, grinning evilly. "You know, the time when I had the pleasure of going inside you."

Gabriella gasped. So, this was her rapist. Troy's mouth dropped open. He knelt down and put James down.

"Jamie," Troy told him. "Go and play with your toys, okay? Daddy will go to you in a while."

"Okay, daddy," James said and rushed off to the living room.

Troy wanted James, Caitlyn and Gabriella out of the danger. James was not in the same room as the gun, but, Gabriella and Caitlyn were.

"Go," Troy told Gabriella.

"No!" Jake yelled. "I want Montez here."

Gabriella hugged Caitlyn tightly. Troy stepped in front of Gabriella and Caitlyn.

"What are you doing, Jake?" he asked.

"I want her dead," Jake snarled.

"No, you don't," Troy said. "You're not a killer."

"How do you know?" Jake asked.

"You're Jake McCartney," Troy said. "Son of Bob McCartney. Your father murdered your mother, when you were two years old. Your father raped your mother and that's how you came to the world."

"How do you know that?" Jake whispered.

"I wrote the article on that incident," Troy replied. "You're not a killer, Jake."

Even though Jake was a couple of years older than Troy, he was scared by Troy's calm voice.

"He wanted me to be like him," Jake whispered, his face wet with tears. "He made me promise before they took him away after they found out."

"Who are 'they'?" Troy asked. "The police?"

Jake nodded. "I promised," he whispered. "I can't break it."

"Yes, you can," Troy said, quietly.

"I can't!" Jake screamed. "I promised him that I'd either be like him or I'd kill myself."

"Jake," Troy said, slowly, hoping that what he thought was going to happen would not happen.

"I can't kill you," Jake sobbed. He was talking to Gabriella. "You have a family. You have children. They will need you."

Jake slowly raised the gun to his own head. Troy and Gabriella watched in horror as he pulled the trigger. Troy rushed forward to stop him but it was too late.

Jake McCartney was dead.

Gabriella and Troy stood frozen on their stops. Caitlyn was crying.

"Daddy!" James cried from the living room. It was obvious that he was afraid.

Troy hurried to the living room, calling 911 at the same time.

The police arrived and removed the body. They asked Troy and Gabriella some questions and left. The gang had gathered at the house by then. They were looking after James and Caitlyn while Troy sorted out Gabriella who was shaken up.

"Gabs," Troy whispered as he held his shaking fiancée in his arms. She had her face buried in his shirt. He kissed her head and forced her to look up at him by holding her chin with his hand. She would not look at him in the eye. "Look at me!"

Gabriella forced herself to look at the blue eyes. "Why me?" she whispered to him.

Troy shook his head. "I don't know, Gabi," he said, softly. "I don't know why he chose you, Gabi. But, think about this Gabi. If he hadn't chosen, would you have come back here? Would you have come back to me? Would you have had Caitlyn? Would you have become a mother to James, or become my fiancé if you hadn't come back, if the rape had not happened? Think about all that, Gabs. Think about that and give me the right answer."

Gabriella thought and shook her head. "No," she whispered. "I wouldn't."

"Maybe all of this happened for the best, Gabi," he said, softly into her ear as he hugged her, tightly. "I'm not saying that the rape was a good thing, but, all of the outcomes are good things, right?"

Gabriella nodded, slowly against his chest.

"I have to ask you to do something, Gabs," Troy said and she looked up at him. "I want you to try and forget about all of this. No, I mean…well, you can't forget about something like this. Try not to think about this."

"I'll try, Troy," she whispered.

"That's my girl," he smiled a bit as he hugged her tightly.

"Hey, Gabs," Taylor called. "You okay?"

A few seconds later, Taylor walked into the hall where Gabriella and Troy were still hugging each other.

"Are you okay?" Taylor asked, again.

"No, but, I will be," Gabriella replied, smiling.

"Good," Taylor smiled. "Now, come on. We've got a wedding to plan. I told Sharpay and she went crazy."

Troy and Gabriella laughed. Troy slung his arms over Gabriella's shoulders as the three walked back into the living room.

"Daddy!" James cried, when he saw Troy. He hugged Troy's legs and Troy grinned as he picked James up and threw him into the air.

"I think he's a bit scared, Troy," Zeke said. "He was extremely quiet and when Chad switched on the TV to some shooting thing he covered his face."

"Oh, damn," Troy groaned and glanced at Gabriella. "I hate McCartney."

"We'll all get over it, Troy," Gabriella whispered. "Even James."

Troy nodded slowly. "So, what've you been doing?" Troy asked James as he carried him to the couch.

Gabriella sat down next to Troy and leant against him. Chad handed her Caitlyn, who had let out a cry. She hugged her little daughter as Troy put one arm around him. The other was around James, who was sitting on his lap.

"Auntie Sharpay says we are planning a we-wed-wedding," James said, after struggling with the word 'wedding'. It was a new word for him. "What's a wedding, daddy?"

"It's a ceremony, where two people get married, I guess," Troy explained to the one-year-old.

"Jamie have wedding?" James asked, staring at Troy with his big blue eyes. Everyone in the room burst out laughing.

"You can have a wedding when you're older, okay?" Troy said. "Much older. Right now, mommy and daddy will have a wedding. How's that?"

"Okay," James said.

"So, who's going to be the best man?" Sharpay asked.

"Chad," Troy said, in a 'duh' tone without a second thought.

"Thanks, man," Chad smiled.

"You've only got to thank yourself," Troy said. "You were the one who sat next to me on the first day of preschool."

"And, the maid of honour?" Sharpay asked.

"Taylor," Gabriella replied as he hugged her daughter close to her chest.

"Thanks, Gabs," Taylor smiled.

"You're welcome," Gabriella shrugged.

"Guys, I think that's enough for today," Troy said, after making more plans.

"But, Troy, we've still got loads to plan," Sharpay protested.

"Sharpay, we're done for today, please," Troy said, firmly as Gabriella got up. Troy looked at her in surprise. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to put Caitlyn to bed," Gabriella replied. "You ought to come, too. James is asleep, in case you didn't know."

Troy looked down and saw that his son was sleeping peacefully on his lap. He looked at Gabriella again. "Yeah, I'll be there in a minute," he said.

The gang left and Troy headed upstairs with James. He put him into bed and went to Caitlyn's room, where Gabriella was singing to her softly. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Let's go visit my dad when these two wake up," Troy suggested. "We'll take them too. He'd like to see them."

"Yeah," Gabriella agreed.

"Knowing James, he'll be up in half an hour or so," Troy said.

"So will Caitlyn," Gabriella said. "We might as well get ready."

"Or I can just hold you for a couple more minutes," Troy smiled.

"I'd like that," Gabriella smiled.

She leaned against Troy and he kissed her neck gently.

"Not now, Troy," Gabriella giggled.

"Why not now?" Troy mumbled still kissing her.

"Because," she began and then sighed as Troy nibbled at her earlobe before continuing. "We are in front of Caitlyn right now and she might wake up. James might wake up, too."

"You're right," Troy sighed just as they heard a cry from James's room.

Troy pulled away from Gabriella immediately and hurried to James's room. Gabriella followed. James was sitting up on his bed crying loudly. Troy picked him up quickly and hugged him, trying to comfort him.

"What's wrong, Jamie?" he asked in a soothing voice.

James continued to sob loudly. He was cuddled up like a ball in Troy's arms. Troy placed a soft kiss on his head.

"Come on, Jamie," Troy said, softly as Gabriella rubbed James's back. "What's wrong?"

"A man," James sobbed. "He had a gun and he shot mommy."

Suddenly it dawned onto Troy and Gabriella. James was having nightmares because of Jake and his gun.

"Jamie, it's okay, now," Troy said. "Daddy's here."

"Mommy?" James said, looking at Gabriella.

"Mommy's right here, too, baby boy," Gabriella said kissing James's head.

"But, the man…" James began as tears welled up in his eyes.

"It was just a dream, James," Troy said. "It was just a bad dream and I want you to forget about it, okay?"

James nodded. "Okay, daddy," he replied.

"That's a good boy," Troy smiled. "Now, what do you want to do?"

"We can play ball, daddy," James said, eagerly.

"Okay, then," Troy laughed.

The three went downstairs to the backyard after Gabriella had switched on the baby monitor in Caitlyn's room. Gabriella sat down on the bench to watch Troy teach James how to play. After about an hour, they heard Caitlyn let out a cry. She had woken up.

"Come on, Jamie," Troy said picking him up. "Let's get your sister and then we'll go and see grandpa."

"Okay," Jamie said happily. He loved Jack and loved to play with him all the time.

About half an hour later, Troy, Gabriella, James and Caitlyn were in the hospital room. James was sitting on Troy's lap while Stella cradled Caitlyn in her arms. Amanda had gone home to take a shower and Jack was asleep at the moment. Troy had an arm around Gabriella and the other was around James. Not much was said among any of them because Jack.

"Daddy," James said, suddenly. "Why is grandpa sleeping?"

"Because, he is sleepy," Troy said.

"When will he wake up?" James asked.

"When he's had enough sleep, I suppose," Troy replied.

"Will he play with me when he wakes up?" James asked.

"I don't think so," Troy said. "Grandpa's a bit sick right now."

"Why is Grandpa sick, daddy?" James asked.

Troy looked at James and saw him grinning innocently, yet, somehow cheekily at him.

"Full of questions today, are we?" Troy asked tickling the one-year-old.

James squealed in delight as he struggled to get out of Troy's tickling hands.

"Troy," Gabriella sighed, tiredly. "You're going to wake up Jack."

"Are you okay, Gabi?" he asked her as he stopped tickling James.

"Yeah, why?" Gabriella frowned, slightly.

"You seem…tired," Troy said.

"I am," Gabriella admitted as she rested her head on Troy's shoulder.

"Do you want to go home?" Troy asked.

"No, it's okay," Gabriella said. "We'll wait till Jack wakes up."

"Are you sure?" Troy asked.

"Yes," Gabriella smiled.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. "Do you want something to eat?"

"Yeah," Gabriella smiled, gratefully.

"What do you want to eat, then?" Troy asked.

"What about some ice cream?" Gabriella grinned.

Troy chuckled. "I'll be back," he said as he got up with James.

Gabriella smiled as she kissed him gently on the lips. Troy pulled away quickly when Stella cleared her throat loudly. He blushed a bit as he walked out of the room with James on his shoulders. Just as Troy left, Caitlyn started crying. Stella handed her to Gabriella, who held her close to her chest.

"Shh, little baby girl," Gabriella whispered. "Mommy's here, now."

At the sound of her mother's comforting voice, Caitlyn stopped crying. She cuddled up close to Gabriella and fell asleep within seconds. Stella watched her and smiled.

"Gabi, do you like being a mother?" she asked.

Gabriella looked at Stella in surprise, but, answered, "Yeah. It's one of the greatest things any woman could ever have."

"'One of the greatest things'?" Stella quoted. "What are the others?"

"A person to love," Gabriella replied. "And a family that cares about you."

"I'm sorry, Gabi," Stella said.

"What for?" Gabriella asked. "The family part?"

"Yeah," Stella said, softly.

"It's okay, Stel," Gabriella said. "I've got a family now."

"You mean Troy, James and Caitlyn?" Stella asked.

"And, us, too," Jack said from the bed.

"Are you always going to wake up and listen to my conversations without saying anything?" Gabriella laughed.

"Maybe," Jack smiled. "But, I meant what I said. You're part of our family, Gabi. Troy's going to marry you. That makes you his family, which makes you our family. And, even if he is not marrying you, you'll still be part of the family."

"Thank you," Gabriella smiled, softly.

"Who's going to walk you down the aisle?" Stella asked, just as the door opened. Troy walked in carrying two ice cream cones in his hands. James followed with a cone of his own.

"Here you go, Gabs," he said handing her one cone. He gave Stella the other one and sat down with James on his lap. "So, I couldn't help overhearing you say something about an aisle."

"I just asked who's going to walk Gabi down the aisle," Stella said as Troy wiped some ice cream off James's face with a tissue.

"Whoever she wants to," Troy said in a 'duh' tone. He looked at Gabriella and followed her gaze to Jack.

"You want me to walk you down the aisle?" Jack asked and Gabriella nodded. "Don't worry, Gabs. I'd love to. You didn't have to ask me."

"I don't think I did," Gabriella smiled. "But, thank you."

"Grandpa, ice cream?" James asked holding up his cone.

"No, thank you, buddy," Jack smiled at his grandson.

"Caty want ice cream?" James asked the sleeping baby in Gabriella's arms.

"I don't think she wants ice cream either," Troy told James. "Why don't you finish yours without getting any of it onto your shirt for once?"

"Okay, daddy," James said and everyone laughed.

* * *

**A/N So coz i was so late in updating, heres another chapter and this ones pretty long. lol. review!**


	10. The wedding

Two months later, everything was set for the wedding. Gabriella had gotten her dress. Troy had gotten his tux. All the two had to do was wait for the day of the wedding and there was still one week to go.

Finally the big day arrived. Both Troy and Gabriella were very excited.

Troy stood and watched as Gabriella walked down the aisle towards him with a smile on her face. She looked absolutely gorgeous in her white dress. Jack gave her a hug when they got to Troy, and Troy took her hand.

"Friends and loved ones," the priest began. "Today, we have gathered here to…"

"…You may kiss the bride," the priest told Troy.

Girls were wiping away their tears and the guys looked as if they were trying not to cry as Troy pulled Gabriella into a romantic kiss.

* * *

**A/N Okay so i know this is a really short chapter, but, I've given you guys two chapters already tonight. I'll put up the last chapter as soon as I get 7 reviews. So, if you want the Epilogue...REVIEW! lol.**


	11. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

Five years later…

It was Troy and Gabriella's wedding anniversary. The entire gang was there with Jack, Amanda, Stella and her fiancé Peter Johnson. Taylor and Chad had a small boy of three years who had Chad's afro. His name was Daniel Danforth. Jason and Kelsi had not had any kids after Jessica. Sharpay and Zeke had gotten married and Sharpay was pregnant. Ryan was engaged to his high school sweetheart, Martha Cox.

Gabriella had also gotten pregnant after that and to both, Gabriella and Troy's happiness, she had not been pregnant with number three, but, number four as well. She had given birth to Sophie Rose Bolton and Seth Jack Bolton. They were two years old now.

Both Troy and Gabriella had thought that the Bolton family was complete, but, just two days ago, Gabriella had found out that she was yet again pregnant. She was, of course thrilled, but, she did not know how Troy would take it, as they had decided long ago that three kids were enough. Sure, Troy had been thrilled when Gabriella had given birth to the twins, but, that was then. Gabriella had decided that she would break the news to Troy that day.

All the kids were playing in the playroom and the adults were having some coffee in the living room. Gabriella was feeling uneasy every time Troy's hand got near her stomach. She was fidgeting next to Troy and he got suspicious.

"Gabi, are you okay?" he asked, finally.

"I…uh…Troy," she looked at him. "We need to talk."

As the four words escaped Gabriella's mouth, all the adults turned to look at them and Troy frowned. He got up and followed his wife into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he shut the kitchen door. Gabriella stood in front of him facing him.

"I don't know how to tell you this, Troy," she began.

"Wait, you're not thinking of getting a divorce, are you?" Troy asked.

"No," Gabriella said, laughing a bit. "It's just…remember how we used to say that we wanted three kids?"

"Yeah," Troy said slowly.

"And, then, now we have four," Gabriella said.

Troy was now more confused than ever. "Where are you taking this, Gabi?" he asked.

Gabriella placed both of her hands on her stomach. "I'm pregnant," she whispered.

Troy froze on the spot. "We're going to have another baby?" he asked, finally.

"Yes," Gabriella nodded.

"In another nine months?" he asked.

"Yes," Gabriella repeated.

"So, we're going to have five kids?" he asked.

"Yes," Gabriella said, again.

Troy's face broke into a grin. He hugged Gabriella tightly, and kissed her.

"I love you, Gabi," he whispered.

"You're not mad?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm not mad," Troy laughed. "Why would I be mad?"

"I don't know," Gabriella smiled. "Maybe I was overreacting."

"Yeah, you were," Troy said. "Come on. Let's go and tell everyone else."

The two walked back to the living room with smiles on their faces. They sat down on one of the armchairs – which was big enough for three – and Troy's arm went around Gabriella and his hand rested on Gabriella's stomach.

"Let me guess," Jack said. "Gabriella's pregnant!"

Troy and Gabriella looked at him in surprise. "How'd you know?" Troy asked.

"Your hand is on her stomach protecting the unborn baby from any harm," Jack pointed out. "So, Gabi's pregnant, then?"

"Yeah," Gabriella smiled as she placed her hand over Troy's. She leaned against Troy as everyone congratulated them.

Ten months later…

Gabriella and Troy were settled with their newborn son, Michael Nicholas Bolton. James, Caitlyn, Seth and Sophie all loved Michael.

One evening, when Troy got home from work, the house was quiet. Troy frowned. It was too quiet. Usually, Seth and Sophie's screams were heard around the house. He climbed upstairs and went to his room and stopped at the sight he saw. Gabriella – who had gotten out of the bathroom after a shower – also stopped. Both, Troy's and Gabriella's faces broke into smiles.

Michael was lying asleep on the middle of the bed with two pillows around him so that he would not fall off. James was lying at one end of the bed with Sophie next to him. Caitlyn was lying at the other end of the bed with Seth next to her.

Troy walked over to Gabriella and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Then, he gave her a gently kiss.

"How did I get so lucky?" he asked.

"I was thinking the same thing," Gabriella smiled.

"All I can say is that it was a miracle you came to Albuquerque again, Gabi," Troy smiled.

"I'm glad I did," Gabriella smiled.

"Me, too," Troy said. "I love you, Gabs."

"I love you, too, Troy," Gabriella said, as she leant against him.

Together, the two watched their children sleep,�glad�that their lives were complete.

* * *

**A/N That's the end of the story! I got only six reviews�for the last three chapters. ( So, I'm hoping you guys will review more for this one. This is the last chapter and i really hope you liked this story. For those who are reading, I'll try and update 'Love at first sight' soon. I've got the writers block for that one. I'm really sorry. And, I'll be posting a oneshot soon. It'll be called 'Studying Algebra'. Some might not like it. I'm not sure. Check it out and decide if you do. And, I'll also be posting up a new story called 'Truth or Dare'. I really hope you like it, too. Anyways, right now, you need to review to this story.**


End file.
